The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has never made a secret of what it wants. Its platform calls for throwing out the U.S. Constitution and writing a new one, and the people running on that platform hate this country and everything it stands for. For years, they lived on the fringes of the Democrat Party. Now several DSA members and self-described democratic socialists have won primaries around the country, and on Tuesday, some of them are poised to win seats in the federal government they want to tear down.
So what can be done about it? Two House Republicans think they've found an answer.
They're talking up an obscure procedure called an oath challenge that could keep DSA members from being sworn into the 120th Congress in January, even if they win their races. Every member-elect must swear to uphold the Constitution before taking a seat, and the speaker typically administers that oath to all 435 at once. A theory circulating among conservatives holds that any member-elect with evidence can object to another's right to take the oath, forcing a debate and a vote by the full House.
Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) says he could use the maneuver.
"You cannot swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution while actively working to destroy it," Self told Fox News Digital. "The oath of office is not just words you say at a ceremony. It is a belief. It is an oath to our country and our fellow countrymen."
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"As DSA candidates and the Red-Green Alliance gain ground, we must enforce the Constitution as written or risk allowing people committed to replacing it to take seats of power under false pretenses," he added. "Anyone who has personally embraced the destruction of the Constitution has no business being sworn in to uphold it."
I don’t disagree with him one bit.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) already has a target. He told the New York Post he'd challenge Darializa Avila Chevalier, who knocked off a senior House Democrat in a primary upset and is all but certain to win her deep-blue district. Burchett plans to cite a since-deleted 2019 post on X in which she boasted about wiping her hands on an American flag because she didn't have a napkin.
According to an analysis from the Center for Renewing America, the speaker could ask the challenged member-elect to step aside once debate begins. Then "the objecting member should place the documentary record before the House, and the House should debate whether that evidence establishes that the member-elect remains committed to destroying the constitutional order." If the House passes a resolution that "establishes the member-elect's commitment to destroying the constitutional order," the member-elect could be blocked from taking the oath.
Again, I agree with the premise. DSA candidates are enemies of this country who shouldn't be in our government. Running on the DSA platform may be enough evidence on its own, and many of these candidates have old social media posts spelling out exactly what they believe. No one believes they’ll drop those views the moment before they take office.
But here's the problem.
If Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wins the gavel, he’d throw the challenge out. But let’s just say Republicans keep the House. Well, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has shown zero appetite for it. Speaking to reporters in Iowa this month, Johnson called the idea that he'd refuse to seat elected Democrats a "nonsense narrative."
"We are going to follow the law," he said.
The Supreme Court also weighed in decades ago. After Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (D-N.Y.) won reelection in 1966 amid financial scandals, the House barred him from his seat. In Powell v. McCormack, the Court ruled in 1969 that the House can't exclude an elected member who meets the constitutional requirements of age, residency, and citizenship.
And suppose Republicans somehow pulled it off anyway. Then it would become another weapon that Democrats could use against Republicans for whatever ridiculous reason they come up with.
And it’s not like they haven’t tried before.
After Jan. 6, 2021, some Democrats talked openly about excluding or expelling Republicans who voted against certifying Joe Biden's 2020 victory. Some Democrats argued that those Republicans could be barred under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Does anyone think Democrats would hesitate to bring an oath challenge of their own the moment they had the votes?
The can of worms this would open is enormous.
That's what makes this so disappointing. The threat is real, and the frustration behind this idea is completely understandable. We’ve seen Democrats weaponize the filibuster, impeachment, committee assignments, the FBI, the IRS, regulatory agencies, executive orders, pardons, and so much more.
Maybe we don’t give them ammunition to weaponize something else.
