Cahill’s Amicus Brief Successfully Defends the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Date: 08/15/25
On August 15, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the judgment of the Northern District of Texas in a case entitled Texas v. Bondi, which had blocked the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) against the State of Texas. The District Court had found that the passage of the PWFA violated the Quorum Clause of the Constitution because a majority of the House of Representatives was not physically present for the vote.
In support of the appeal of that District Court decision, one year ago in August 2024, Cahill filed an amicus brief on behalf of four members of Congress: Representatives Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee; Jim McGovern, Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee; and Joe Morelle, Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee.
In its August 15, 2025 decision, the Court of Appeals concluded that, “[a]fter reading the text, analyzing binding and persuasive authority, and reviewing our Nation’s history and tradition, we conclude that the Quorum Clause does not require physical presence.” In so holding, the Court quoted extensively from Cahill’s amicus brief, which had emphasized that invalidating the exercise of the House’s “rulemaking authority threatens to disenfranchise all congressional members, and in turn their constituents, who voted in accordance with then-existing House Rules in voting in favor of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.”
To read the amicus brief, click here.