Politics
New York Democratic state rep. voting from France asks to use COVID-19 remote work rule... again
A House Democrat who reportedly used a congressional COVID-19 rule to vote remotely from a celebrity wedding on the French Riviera last summer has once again requested to vote by proxy
June 18, 2022 9:05am
Updated: June 18, 2022 9:59am
A House Democrat who reportedly used a congressional COVID-19 rule to vote remotely from a celebrity wedding on the French Riviera last summer has once again requested to vote by proxy.
Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) submitted a request to the clerk of the House of Representatives to designate a colleague to vote on his behalf on Wednesday, according to the New York Post.
“I am unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency, and I hereby grant the authority to cast my vote by proxy to the Honorable Mark Takano (California), who has agreed to serve as my proxy,” he wrote.
House Democrats enacted proxy voting in May 2020, defending it as temporary measure to ensure sick and vulnerable legislators could continue to participate. Republicans opposed it for potential abuses.
The letter used identical language to the request he sent in 2021, when he designated Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) to vote as his proxy as he attended the wedding of actress Issa Rae at a French resort by the Ligurian Sea.
Jones may have used proxy voting to vote up to 17 pieces of legislation between July 19 and 27 last year as he gallivanted around France with the bride's entourage, based on social media posts and online records reviewed by The Post.
The New York City rep. is currently competing for a House seat left open following the state’s redistricting chaos, where Democratic efforts to gerrymander districts in their favor was rejected by courts.
The Democratic primary for the vacant U.S. House New York District 10 has 17 candidates, including former mayor Bill de Blasio, according to Ballotpedia.
A spokesperson for Jones’ relection campaign defended his visit, saying the rep. had “no apologies” for “being with his good friend during the most important week of her life.”
“It’s hard to tell what The Post is more offended by, Mondaire Jones voting against Republicans multiple times or Mondaire Jones attending the wedding of his close friend, and absolute icon, Issa Rae,” spokesman Bill Neidhardt told The Post.
The top 20 users of proxy voting through April 2022 are all Democrats, according to Cronkite News/Arizona PBS. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has extended proxy voting twice, which is now set to expire June 28.
U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher — a Wisconsin Republican who proposed legislation last year to end proxy voting — actually used Jones’ foreign travel to demonstrate why House leaders should end the practice.
“While the French Riviera is no Door County, it’s still the last place a Member of Congress should be while Congress is in session. Democrats claim they proxy vote because of the ‘ongoing public health crisis,’ but it’s clear proxy voting is really just about avoiding their job and taking an extended European vacation,” he told The New York Post in a written statement.
