Disclaimer:
Patriot Journal shares ownership with Vici Media Group who had Ken Paxton as a client at one point.
Back in 2022, Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi got passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 allocated a tremendous sum for the federal government to spend. It along with other spending bills, experts say contributed to Biden’s runaway inflation.
Some Republicans have not been happy with this bill ever since, as it pushed progressive policies and put a huge tax burden on Americans.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued to challenge several parts of the bill. He then focused on a key detail that Pelosi would have been happy he overlooked. Now, a judge is deciding that one of Pelosi’s COVID-era rules violated the Constitution.
From Washington Examiner:
A Texas federal judge ruled a $1.7 trillion government funding bill was unconstitutionally passed in 2022 due to a pandemic-era rule allowing the House of Representatives to vote by proxy instead of in person…The spending bill was passed in December 2022 under a pandemic-driven proxy vote rule, which former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) helped enact. After Republicans secured the House majority in the November 2022 elections, the party agreed to end the use of proxy voting during the 117th Congress despite GOP lawmakers engaging in the rule.
A federal judge in Texas ruled that a massive spending bill passed by Biden in 2022 was unconstitutional. The decision was based on the fact that Pelosi allowed the bill to be voted by “by proxy.”
The COVID-era rule, approved by House Democrats, allowed members of Congress who were in person to vote on behalf of those outside of D.C. This allowed some House members to literally “phone it in.”
This was a hotly-contested rule by Republicans. They eliminated it once they retook the House. If those proxy votes are not counted, then this massive spending bill did not have enough in-person votes to pass.
Meaning it was signed into law in violation of the Constitution.
What this means in the long term is unclear. The judge might issue that the entire piece of legislation is null and void. That could have big consequences for Biden, who has failed to secure any other legislative wins since the 2022 midterms.
We should expect Biden’s administration to challenge this ruling, which could bring it before a higher court.
Key Takeaways:
- A federal judge in Texas ruled a massive Biden spending bill from 2022 is unconstitutional.
- This was decided because then-Speaker Pelosi used proxy votes, which the judge deemed illegal.
- During COVID, Democrats in the House allowed votes to be counted by members who were not in D.C.
Source: Washington Examiner
