Democrat Rep.’s Proxy Voting-Enabled High Life |

Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois spent thousands of dollars on events and travel while his vote was cast by proxy during an appearance on One America News Network Tuesday.

“A lot of the payments on Rush’s accounts are in relation to House disbursements,” reporter Gabe Kaminsky told “Tipping Point” host Kara McKinney. “House disbursements are part of a member’s representational allowance, and they are actually somewhat vague with regard to what they say where our lawmakers are traveling.”

Rush spent over $60,000 between House disbursements and his campaign fund on travel and events since the House of Representatives authorized proxy voting in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rush spoke at a Juneteenth event in Chicago the same day that three proxy votes were cast on his behalf.

“It’s not entirely clear where Rush was traveling, but it is clear that he was traveling while claiming inherently through proxy voting – because proxy voting was set up for lawmakers who claim the COVID pandemic was so serious that they couldn’t vote in person – but he was happy to travel around while doing so,” Kaminsky said. “If they’re fine to travel around, why can’t they travel to the House chamber and vote on a few bills?”

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“I think Congressman Rush, I think 15 terms he’s served now in the House, I think he may be retiring quite soon, so perhaps he doesn’t care too much at this point,” McKinney said. Rush announced his retirement in January, CNN reported.

Republicans criticized the implementation of proxy voting, with Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming calling it “unconstitutional.” The Supreme Court rejected a suit filed against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop the practice in January.

Rush and Pelosi did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.