A Kentucky Republican may single-handedly delay passage of a massive coronavirus relief bill by forcing House lawmakers to travel back to Washington for a roll call vote.
Lawmakers are pointing to Rep. Thomas Massie, who has said the government’s response to the pandemic is worse than the pandemic itself, as the lawmaker refusing to go along with a so-called voice vote that would not require members to be present in the House chamber.
The final outcome is not in doubt. The bill will pass either way ― it’s just a matter of when, and whether hundreds of lawmakers board planes to return to the Capitol.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was aware of the possibility Thursday. In a private call with lawmakers Thursday afternoon, Pelosi alerted lawmakers that she was determined to hold the vote Friday if she could get enough lawmakers back to Washington.
“We have to get people off their selfishness,” Pelosi said on the call of the Republican threat to hold up the vote, according to Politico. House rules allow for a single member of the House to object to a “voice vote” procedure and cause delay.
Pelosi’s office said they would be prepared to call lawmakers back to D.C. should Massie, or another lawmaker, disrupt the expedited proceedings. The House would then need to reach quorum — 216 members — to proceed.
Asked if another member besides Massie wanted the roll call vote, a Pelosi spokesman told HuffPost it was only Massie.
President Donald Trump censured Massie over Twitter Friday morning, calling the Kentucky Republican a “third rate Grandstander.”
The Senate passed the relief package this week. The bill would send more than a thousand dollars in direct cash payments to all but the wealthiest tier of American households, supercharge unemployment insurance, and give businesses tax breaks if they avoid laying off their workers. It also bails out airlines and includes an additional corporate bailout fund the Trump administration can use at its discretion, which has been controversial.
Unemployment claims have already skyrocketed as local governments have ordered businesses closed in order to reduce the spread of the virus, which is present in every state and has already killed more than a thousand Americans.
But Massie, a libertarian, has said he thinks closing restaurants and other government actions are actually a bigger threat than the virus itself.
“The greater harm to society is the public’s unquestioning acceptance of the unchecked authority of governments to force private behavior and disrupt economies,” he tweeted last week, adding that the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II would seem like a “light touch” by comparison.
This week, Massie followed up that tweet: “Social-distancing, self-isolation, and shelter-in-place go from good ideas to oppression when ordered from the barrel of a gun,” later adding that he was “struggling” with whether or not to hold up the vote.
Lawmakers reportedly spent Thursday frantically trying to find flights back into Washington, D.C. An added worry for lawmakers: getting sick en route.
“It’s unfortunate that one single member would choose to endanger the health and safety of not only an entire legislative body and its support staff, but also all of the communities to which these members will now return after convening in Washington,” said Chris Schuler, a spokesperson for Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.). “It’s particularly egregious because this legislation will pass with overwhelmingly bipartisan support whether by voice or recorded vote.”
The Capitol Building has already seen multiple positive cases of COVID-19, including at least two House lawmakers — Reps. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fl.), who are currently quarantined at home with the illness and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who also has tested positive with the coronavirus.
A spokesman for Massie did not have further comment at time of publication.
A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus
Calling all HuffPost superfans!
Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter
