Due to the lingering COVID pandemic, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) cannot be bothered to show up in person at his job in Washington, D.C., but he does have time to travel across the country for Hollywood fundraisers.
Thanks to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s declaration that COVID is still an emergency, even after the president stated that the pandemic was “over,” members of Congress are still allowed to vote via proxy — allowing someone else to cast their votes in person. The theory is that COVID poses a risk to some, and they cannot travel for work. Of course, theories don’t always transfer into reality, and some folks like Ryan are using the measure for personal travel and fundraising opportunities.
“Tim Ryan claimed he skipped work today ‘due to the ongoing public health emergency,'” GOP Senate candidate JD Vance’s press Secretary Luke Schroeder tweeted Wednesday. “He’s actually headed to California to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from Hollywood elites.”
Tim Ryan claimed he skipped work today "due to the ongoing public health emergency."
He's actually headed to California to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from Hollywood elites. #OHSen https://t.co/0kXvMHUQLw pic.twitter.com/Tz6EzkJ2cV
— Luke Schroeder (@Luke__Schroeder) September 28, 2022
As flagged by The Wrap, Ryan met with a number of “Hollywood-esque type people who care about politics” at multiple fundraisers Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Hollywood super-agent Jay Sures hosted Ryan at one dinner and told The Wrap, “I’ve been friends with Tim, and I’m hosting because I think he’s amazing.”
“He someone I’ve known for a while,” Sures added. “I care about him and I would really like to see him and his family do well.”
Per The Washington Free Beacon, Ryan also met with “Mitchell Kamin, a high-powered Los Angeles-based litigator.”
Kamin represented the “U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which in 2020 attempted to avoid paying damages to the victims of former U.S. women’s national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted in 2017 of systematically sexually abusing women and girls.”
Ryan isn’t the first Democrat caught playing hookey while blaming COVID. Last winter, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) voted proxy throughout December, yet traveled to Miami, Florida, for a New Year’s rendezvous with her then-boyfriend. The democratic-socialist stated that critics of her trip were simply jealous and sexually frustrated men who wanted to date her.
AOC wasn’t fundraising, she was doing things like partying at a drag brunch with celebrity Billy Porter. She shortly caught COVID after the trip.
Republican members of Congress have also taken advantage of the House’s lax proxy rules, including high-ranking Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
For his part, Ryan is apparently hoping to catch some momentum in his race against Vance. Polling shows that Vance has a slight lead.
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