OK, the lay of the land regarding proxy voting in US Senate committees:
Background fact – “Voting by proxy is not permitted on the Senate floor. The House of Representative bans proxy voting both in its committees and on the floor, although Representatives have sometimes voted by proxy during conference committee deliberations.” [see first footnote here]
Google Gemini prompt and response:
bordelond: The list of US Senate committees in which votes by proxy are allowed … is that searchable, publicly available information?
Google Gemini: Yes, the list of rules regarding proxy voting for US Senate committees is fully public and searchable. Almost all Senate committees permit proxy voting under specific guidelines, and these individual procedures are compiled and published publicly each congressional session.
Public Sources and Where to Search
• Authority and Rules of Senate Committees: Published as a Senate Document by the Committee on Rules and Administration each Congress, compiling every panel’s official written rules. It is searchable online via GovInfo .
• Congressional Research Service (CRS): Reports like Proxy Voting and Polling in Senate Committee provide detailed breakdown lists of which specific committees allow proxies and how they must be executed (e.g., in writing or orally).
• Individual Committee Websites: Each Senate committee publishes its active rules of procedure directly on its official site (such as the Senate Judiciary Committee or Senate HELP Committee).
Key Details on Senate Proxy Rules
• General Practice: All Senate standing committees permit proxy voting in some form during committee markups, with only rare exceptions like historical non-legislative panels (e.g., the Special Committee on Aging).
• Quorum Limits: By Senate precedent and rule, proxy votes cannot be used to constitute the physical quorum needed to report a bill or measure out of committee.
• Execution Variations: Some committees require written proxy authorization or specific instructions on how to record the vote, while others allow telephone or verbal instructions to a present member.
2025 video (only 46 seconds) going over recent rule changes affecting proxy voting in US Senate committees [EDIT: Sorry, this video is about the House potentially changing rules to allow proxy floor voting for representatives that are new parents. Not sure if the bill ever passed; thinking not]:
Thanks for the correction. I was repeating something I read in a post by a paramedic on Substack, and he either overstated the risk or I misinterpreted it.
His overall point was that if McConnell actually needed and got CPR then his condition now is likely worse (and possibly much worse) than is being publicly released.
CNN’s Manu Raju reports on Sen. Mitch McConnell saying Thursday that he has been discharged from the rehabilitation center where he had been recovering after a fall and will continue to recover at home.
Reported widely, NYT, WaPO, etc.
Of course, some with zero in on that "Sen. Mitch McConnell saying " part, and need independent verification. I get that.
Exactly. Was it McConnell literally “speaking” in front of the public, or was it a written statement issued by his office? It sounds like it was the latter.
“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” McConnell said in a statement.
That sure sounds like a written statement, and not a press conference.
There’s a significant “if” there. We don’t actually know if McDonnell got CPR or not.
But nor do we know his actual present condition. Being released to a rehab center or even to his home is pretty meaningless. For all we know, he could be in a coma or persistive vegetative state.
I assume if he was capable of making a statement on camera, he would do so.
There was no press conference. Whether or not any of those news sources had a chance to Factcheck, who knows? Sounds like award material for a investigative reporter, no?
The only way to check on any of those things is to either sneak into his home past the armed guards that he doubtless has to observe him directly, or to ask the people who are probably already lying.
How possible is that McConnell is less ill than progressives think, and is deliberately stringing them on? Answer: We do not know.
The speculation is creating a situation where if he walks into the Senate chamber after the August/September recess – and we have no information to rule that out – he’ll walk in to bipartisan cheers.
Or maybe he will not ever walk another step. But I don’t see the reason in speculating now that his handlers are engaging in a coverup. Why not wait until you actually know of such a coverup? There would be plenty of time then to point it out.
The cover-up is not speculation — it’s confirmed fact. The refusal to be open and candid with McConnell’s true condition IS the cover-up. Just because they technically have the right to withhold information doesn’t mean they’re doing the right thing … and it certainly doesn’t mean there’s no cover-up.
The identities of spies in the field are less well-kept secrets at this point. I hope there’s a tell-all book one day that details just HOW the information has been kept under wraps. Asking nicely wouldn’t be sufficient. The mind boggles.
