Democratic Rep Cast Most Of His Votes By ‘Proxy’ While Spending Tens Of Thousands On Travel And Events

• Democratic Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush has mostly voted by proxy over the last two years but spent thousands in travel and event expenses on the dime of taxpayers and donors, federal records reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation show. 
• The House authorized an emergency health policy in May 2020, letting members vote remotely — called “proxy” voting — as “a necessary and immediately feasible low-tech option” for those who cannot be physically present in the chamber.
• “As in this case, when we see members regularly voting by proxy but also attending public campaign events at the same time, it is clearly contrary to the authorized purpose of the rule and it is plainly wrong,” said Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust.

Democratic Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush has overwhelmingly voted by “proxy” since the practice was first authorized in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, however, Rush has spent thousands in travel and event expenses on the dime of taxpayers and donors, including on days he voted by proxy, Federal Election Commission (FEC) and House disbursement records show.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the House approved an emergency health policy allowing members to vote remotely — called “proxy” voting — as “a necessary and immediately feasible low-tech option” for those who cannot be physically present in the chamber. Since the policy was implemented in May 2020, Rush has spent close to $61,000 on travel and events, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of records found.

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