Ever since the House of Representatives instituted proxy voting — a procedure that allows members of Congress to vote on behalf of their colleagues — Republicans have made their opposition to the practice clear.
When the House voted in May 2020 to allow proxy voting due to the public health emergency spurred by COVID-19, every single Republican lawmaker voted against the measure. Days later, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over it, challenging the constitutionality of proxy voting.
"It is a brazen violation of the Constitution, a dereliction of our duty as elected officials, and would silence the American people's voice during a crisis," McCarthy said at the time. "Democrats are creating a precedent for further injustice. If their changes are acceptable, what stops the majority from creating a 'House Rule' that stipulates the minority party's votes only count for half of the majority party's?"
Ultimately, the Supreme Court declined to hear the complaint in January 2022. Republicans have also claimed that Pelosi only keeps the procedure in place to this day in order to shore up Democrats' razor-thin majority.
But with time, Republicans have begun to break with their stated opposition to the practice and attest that they are "unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency" while dealing with health issues, the births of children, political events, and ailing family members.
Insider analyzed the data from each of the over 700 roll call votes taken by the House between May 20, 2020 until April 7, 2022, analyzing which members used the practice most frequently.
While proxy voting is still overwhelmingly used by Democrats versus Republicans, Insider identified 15 Republican House members who've cast over 100 proxy votes in the last two years.