The Biden administration is challenging a Texas judge’s ruling that the 2022 $1.7 trillion omnibus bill was unconstitutionally passed by Congress using proxy voting. The Department of Justice filed an appeal at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the district court erred in finding the bill unconstitutional due to remote voting. The DOJ contends that Congress followed House rules permitting proxy voting and did not violate the Quorum Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The district court’s ruling only prohibited the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in Texas but did not nullify the entire spending bill. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who previously sued President Biden over the bill, praised the court’s decision. He criticized Congress for passing the bill with remote voting and accused them of violating the Constitution.
The proxy voting rule was implemented by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule allowed members of the House to serve as proxies for absent colleagues. More than half of the House members were absent when the bill was passed using proxy voting.
Judge James Wesley Hendrix’s ruling found that Congress violated the Quorum Clause by passing the spending bill with remote voting. The relief provided by the court was limited to blocking the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in Texas. Paxton argued that the provision would burden the state government and expose Texas to lawsuits.
The DOJ’s appeal challenges the judge’s interpretation of the Quorum Clause and seeks a reversal of the ruling. If successful, the relief provided to Texas by blocking the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would be overturned. Please rewrite this sentence.
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