A federal judge in Washington has issued a major preliminary injunction blocking the United States House from enforcing its proxy voting rule, declaring two disputed expulsions void, and barring Representative Dannybec from exercising the powers of Speaker while litigation continues.
In Wrightsonophobia et al. v Dannybec et al., Judge Florence E Allen of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found seven plaintiff House members were likely to succeed in their constitutional challenge to Standing Rule XIX.
Court Finds Proxy Voting Likely Unconstitutional
The ruling immediately restrains the House Clerk from counting absent members toward quorum, recording proxy votes, or entering proxy votes in the House Journal. Judge Allen held that the constitutional text distinguishes between members who are present and members who are absent, and that proxy participation cannot substitute for physical attendance in establishing quorum.
"The constitutional text of the Quorum Clause is not ambiguous," the opinion states, adding that a quorum cannot be built through absent members counted by proxy.
The court cited United States v Ballin and treated Texas v Garland as persuasive authority in rejecting the defence argument for "functional presence".
Speakership Power Restrained Pending Litigation
Judge Allen also found Dannybec's election as Speaker constitutionally infirm due to serious quorum concerns at the session where the election occurred. Affidavit evidence referenced by the court included claims that attendance records reflected members as present despite alleged physical absence.
On that basis, the injunction bars Dannybec from exercising the powers and duties of Speaker for the duration of the case.
Expulsions of alinvicom and sad66567 Declared Void
The court declared House Resolutions 1707 and 1708 void and without legal effect. The ruling said the House could not expel representatives-elect as a substitute for refusing to seat them, and also cited procedural defects, including alleged prevention of a vote by Representative alinvicom and reliance on proxy votes to meet a two-thirds threshold.
"A supermajority assembled through unconstitutional means is not a supermajority within the meaning of the Constitution," the opinion states.
Immediate Effect, Not a Final Merits Judgment
The injunction took effect immediately. Judge Allen held that likelihood of success, irreparable harm, balance of equities, and public interest all favoured interim relief. The court also stated that the order operates prospectively and does not automatically void legislation already enacted under Standing Rule XIX.
The House may continue its work, the judge wrote, but must do so with a physically present quorum and without the proxy voting mechanism challenged in the case.
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