History in the making as House is poised for proxy voting
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a day that's shaping up as one for the history books: For the first time, House lawmakers intend to vote by proxy, a move to avoid the risk of travel to Washington during the pandemic.
To mark Wednesday's history-making moment, House Republicans sued to stop the majority party from going ahead.
The House, with 432 current members and three vacancies, is trying to strike a balance between working from home during the coronavirus outbreak and honoring the Constitution’s requirement to be “present” and voting.
The House rules change is fast becoming a political test on party lines. Dozens of Democrats signed up to have colleagues cast their vote by proxy. Twenty Republicans joined in the leaders’ lawsuit against that move, which House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of California says is unconstitutional.
The House returned to Washington for an abbreviated two-day session as the city remains under stay home orders through month's end. Republicans in the Senate, which is on recess after spending much of May in the capital, have knocked the decision by top Democrats to largely stay out of session during the pandemic.
Deadlocked over the next big coronavirus relief bill, Congress is shifting its attention to a more modest overhaul of small-business aid in hopes of helping employers reopen shops and survive the pandemic.
But the agenda is in flux, with the main item, extending federal surveillance tools, in doubt after the Justice Department urged President Donald Trump to veto it. Republicans, wary of crossing the president, asked to delay the vote.
There were no formal talks between congressional leaders on the next phase of the federal coronavirus response. Democrats have pushed a $3 trillion-plus measure through the House, but negotiations...
