McCarthy wonders if the 70 Democrats who voted 'by proxy' Wednesday 'will still take their check'

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday slammed the roughly 70 Democrats who voted by proxy on Wednesday – singling out Florida Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist, who didn't come to Washington but drove to the Kennedy Space Center for the scheduled SpaceX rocket launch instead.

During a press conference, McCarthy showed a letter from Crist to the House Clerk, which stated he was "unable to physically" make it to Capitol Hill for Wednesday's votes, due to the coronavirus. The rocket launch he attended was ultimately rescheduled to Saturday due to weather after many public officials, including President Trump, arrived for the event.

"To get there it took him about two-and-a-half hours to drive there, the same amount of time as a flight from Tampa to D.C. but instead of going to work and serving as a voice for his constituents, Charlie decided to play hooky," said McCarthy, a California Republican. "But he drove two-a-half hours to watch a launch outside of his district and gave somebody else the power to vote."

Crist was one of at least 70 House lawmakers who chose to vote by proxy on Wednesday under a rule change the Democratic-led House passed recently.

"I wonder if Charlie will cash his check this month?" McCarthy said. "I wonder if those 70 Democrats will still take their check."  

A group of GOP lawmakers is suing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the proxy voting rule, arguing that it is unconstitutional.