The courts, the vigilance of state attorneys general and secretaries of state, plus the good work of the democracy defense groups have steadily diminished the likelihood of President Trump trying some kind of Election Day coup. However, a recurring worry is the risk of a post-election coup on January 3, when the newly elected Congress is due to be certified and sworn in.
In a scenario that has been making the rounds. Mike Johnson, still Speaker of the lame-duck Congress, appoints a political hack to replace the current nonpartisan clerk of the House, and the new clerk refuses to certify dozens of election results, leaving Republicans in control of the new House.
When I last wrote about this scenario, I pointed out that the full House can vote to override the Speaker, and I suggested that there are dozens of non-Trumpers and a few outright anti-Trumpers who are not running for re-election. Thus the Democrats could likely get more than enough Republicans to vote with them to block this scheme.
Now, a bipartisan group is acting to head an attempted January 3 coup off at the pass. Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, an anti-MAGA Republican, and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, a centrist Democrat who often works across the aisle, are asking for advance written pledges from their House colleagues to accept the midterm election results.
They have requested fellow members to sign a public letter “opposing efforts to undermine free and fair elections or override the will of the voters, including any attempt to refuse or delay the seating of any Member-elect who presents a validly issued election certificate.” Republican Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, both facing uphill re-election contests, signed the letter.
Today on TAP
This story first appeared in our free Today on TAP newsletter, a weekday email featuring commentary on the daily news from Prospect reporters.
No paywall, no programmatic ads — just the reporting. Unsubscribe anytime. Submitting your email signs you up for Today on TAP, our weekday afternoon newsletter.
It’s one thing when a Don Bacon, always a Trump-resister and not running for re-election, signs such a letter. It’s something else when Lawler and Fitzpatrick, who have the delicate task of assembling a voting coalition of MAGA Republicans, anti-Trump Republicans, and independents, decide to cast their lot with democracy.
The pledge from those three Republicans in a House where the Republican majority is currently a bare 218-to-214 (with one independent who caucuses with Republicans) is almost enough to block any coup attempt all by itself, and other Republicans are likely to sign on. At this writing, Mike Johnson has not responded, but this effort is probably sufficient to dissuade him from playing cute with the clerk of the House.
Of course, none of this will prevent Trump from ranting about bogus election fraud. But the more unhinged and unpopular he becomes, the less Republicans are inclined to serve as his enablers. It’s another healthy sign that this dark chapter in our democracy is beginning to draw to a close.
