A Kentucky Republican forced dozens of House lawmakers to travel to Washington for an in-person vote on coronavirus relief legislation — only to see it pass easily.
Rep. Thomas Massie, who has said the government’s response to the pandemic is worse than the pandemic itself, tried to stop a so-called voice vote that would not have required members to be present in the House chamber. House rules allow for a single member to object to a “voice vote” procedure and cause delay.
“I came here to make sure our republic doesn’t die by unanimous consent in an empty chamber,” Massie said on the floor before calling for an in-person vote.
But when Massie requested the vote, not enough members rose in support, and the bill passed by voice vote anyway. The recorded vote would have required support from one-fifth of lawmakers.
Massie announced his decision Friday in a tweet, after lawmakers had already started making their way back to Washington because the congressman had already indicated he’d likely insist on them being present for the vote.
The final outcome was never in doubt. The bill would have passed either way ― it was just a matter of when, and whether hundreds of lawmakers would need to board planes to return to the Capitol. | 
