Chicago City Wire

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush ranks third on the list of members of congress who skipped votes in 2021.

Rush missed all but a handful of roll call votes for the entire year, instead having U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) cast votes as a proxy.

“Pelosi’s House — skip work, get paid. Meet the top 15 proxy voting members in ’21. #FirePelosi," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a tweet.

Over the course of 2021, Underwood cast 358 votes on behalf of Rush.

Rush has represented the district since 1993. He is not running for re-election. He was named in the Ripon Society’s report “The Absentee Congress.”

“Perhaps the most jarring outcome of perpetual proxy voting is some Members have taken to practically never coming back to Washington – sometimes not showing up for months on end,” the Ripon Society noted. “Rep. Al Lawson (D-FL-5) and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24) have not voted in-person since January 11th, and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL-1) has not voted on the House floor since January 13th.”

Despite having participated in campaign activities on days on which votes were taken, Rush still took off from Congress.

“For example, despite submitting to the Clerk of the House a letter stating he could not be present that day due to the 'ongoing public health emergency,' Rep. Rush was able to travel back to Washington on November 15th, where he attended a White House bill signing," the Ripon Society wrote. "There, he was able to have a maskless selfie, albeit outside, with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Despite making it back to the nation’s capital that day, he was still absent from the House floor that day for votes. Moreover, photos and videos he has posted on social media make clear that he has not refrained from attending in-person events, both indoor and outdoor, while he is at home."