Republican Slams ‘Dark Of Night’ Construction Of Plexiglass Structure To Allow COVID-Exposed Dems To Vote For Pelosi

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) needed nearly every last vote to win another stint as speaker of the House on Sunday.

Before the vote, 427 members of the House answered present when roll was called, 220 Democrats and 207 Republicans. That meant that Pelosi would need a majority of 214 votes to return as speaker, so she could lose just six Democratic votes to retain her post.

She lost five.

 But in an odd twist that could only come amid a pandemic, House officials built a special plexiglass box in the chamber Sunday so that members who had been exposed to COVID-19 — or, in one case, had tested positive but been cleared from quarantine — could still cast their votes.

One Republican was outraged by the move. “To build a structure like that, in the dark of night, to only protect the votes that Speaker Pelosi needs to get reelected speaker, is shameful,” said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), the top Republican on the House Administration Committee.

Davis said the “lack of communication with the minority” party in the House made the move “100% political.”

In the end, 427 lawmakers voted for a House member, including Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), who tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 28 but was cleared from quarantine at midnight and traveled to Washington to cast her vote.

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