Rep. Roy Issues Statement on Texas v. Garland Ruling

Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) issued the following statement in response to Judge James Hendrix's ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that House passage of the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations bill violated the Constitution's Quorum Clause.

Article I of the Constitution has always made it clear that House and Senate members be physically present when conducting certain legislative business. For our constitutional system to work, it must be followed.

During passage of Pelosi's $1.7 trillion lame duck FY 2023 omnibus in December 2022, I noted a physical quorum was not present. Indeed, a majority of Members - 226 - elected to vote by proxy on the bill's final passage.

While this ruling's reach will not be immediate, it is a critically important first step in forming judicial precedent against unconstitutional proxy voting. Thank you to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Texas Public Policy Foundation for leading this effort in court. And thank you to the Mountain States Legal Foundation for their work on the amicus brief we led in the case. I also want to thank former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for working with me to challenge the constitutionality of proxy voting which the Supreme Court did not take up, but represented the right legal and philosophical position — a position underscored by yesterday's judgment.