House Republicans plan to try to open the Democrats’ $740 billion tax, climate and health care bill to legal challenge after it passes, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The move is a way for Republicans to show their base that they will go to great lengths to defeat the legislation, which is likely to be unanimously opposed by House Republicans.
- “I would be shocked if anyone [in the GOP] voted for it,” said Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), the top House Republican deputy.
Breaking news: Republicans, led by right-wing members of the House of Representatives, plan to have “as many members as possible vote by proxy” to deny Democrats a physical quorum, two senior Republican aides told Axios.
- The bill will still pass, but Republicans hope that a company affected by the bill’s tax provisions will file a lawsuit to challenge the law’s constitutionality.
- Fueling their plan is the fact that so many members are voting by proxy: There were 187 active proxies as of Friday afternoon, according to the House clerk’s office.
Yes, but: An aide stressed that as of early Friday night, the plan was not certain to go ahead as officials continued to strategize and try to get enough members to participate.
- They added that if the effort fails, Republican members are likely to vote as they originally planned.
Context: The Constitution requires Congress to have a simple majority of members present to pass legislation—in other words, a quorum.
- However, the House passed a resolution at the beginning of the 117th Congress that provided for proxy votes to count toward that quorum.
Flashback: The Supreme Court in January declined to hear a challenge to proxy voting by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), upholding a lower court ruling that the House’s ability to create its own rules under the Constitution’s speech or debate clause are not subject to judicial review.
- However, one aide noted that the court did not consider whether proxy votes count as a quorum under the Constitution — supporting their hope that the issue could at least be settled in court.
The other side: Drew Hamill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), told Axios in a statement, “Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have clearly held that a House resolution establishing proxy voting is legislative act which is covered by the speech or debate clause of the Constitution.”
- “This is completely nonsensical theatrics from a group caught in a toxic MAGA echo chamber trying to explain to the public their defense of rich Big Pharma tax cheats and profits.”
Add Comment