Proxy Voting in House Comes to an end

With the Republican majority reentering the House of Representatives and potential soon-to-be first-time Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) taking the helm in the lower chamber, naturally, there are going to be some new rules. Due to this natural progression, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) mentioned that proxy voting will be coming to an end come January 3^rd.

“The American people elect Members of Congress to do a job: go to Washington and represent them. Come January 3rd, Democrats who’ve been proxy voting because of the “public health emergency” for the last 2+ years will finally be forced to do their job. #CommitmentToAmerica,” tweeted Rep. Mast.

For those who don’t know, proxy voting is the ability to vote despite not being in Washington physically. It was implemented due to the coronavirus pandemic. Proxy voting was a contentious debate during this past midterm season, especially in the Rubio-Demings race, as both candidates accused each other of not showing up for work.

According to The Floridian’s sources, which include members of Congress and Capitol Police, metal detectors, which were first implemented by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the Capitol Riot,  will be removed from outside the House chamber.

As Reuters put it, “the metal detectors are a reminder of [the] deadly U.S. Capitol Assault.” Since their implementation, a multitude of Republican legislators have complained about the metal detectors, calling them a political theatre as well as some GOP representatives going as far as filing lawsuits seeking to remove the metal detectors altogether.

After President Donald Trump (R) and President Joe Biden (D) both served their first two years in office with a federal government trifecta, their parties both lost the House of Representatives during the midterms.

Because of this, President Trump was able to be impeached twice. It is possible that Republicans will reciprocate the actions of the opposing party.