Representative Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, taking advantage of a coronavirus protection measure that he voted against earlier this year, was apparently staying off the floor of the House of Representatives as Congress was moving to vote Sunday on a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill.
“I am unable to physically attend proceedings in the House chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency,” Gaetz wrote in a Friday letter to the clerk of the House of Representatives.
Also in the letter, Gaetz — who represents Northwest Florida in Congress — notified the House clerk that he had assigned Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, as his proxy for upcoming House votes.
Although she is a Democrat, Gabbard — an Iraq War veteran — is popular among some Republicans.
Gaetz assigned Gabbard as his proxy under the terms of House Resolution 965, passed by a Democratic majority in the House in May, in a 217-189 vote. Gaetz was one of 185 Republicans to vote against the resolution.
The resolution allows House members to select another House member to vote on their behalf when “a public health emergency due to a novel coronavirus is in effect.”
It was not clear Sunday exactly why Gaetz is unable to attend proceedings in the House chamber. His office would not say Sunday whether the proxy remained in effect, nor did his office say how long Gaetz expected to need a proxy.
Gaetz’s office also would not say Sunday whether the congressman, who had a coronavirus scare earlier this year, had contracted the disease.
In March, Gaetz was tested for COVID-19, and the test came back negative for the coronavirus. Gaetz was tested after learning he had taken a Feb. 27 photograph at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland with someone who was later determined to have been carrying the coronavirus.
Gaetz’s office also would not say Sunday whether the congressman had attended any recent White House or other Washington, D.C., holiday parties. Photos and reports from a number of recent Washington holiday parties have indicated that masks and social distancing, recommended protocols for slowing the spread of coronavirus, have not necessarily been strictly observed.
-Courtesy NW Florida Daily News