Overview
- Writing in The New Republic, Israel argues President Trump and House allies could invoke Article I, Section 5 to contest or delay seating of winners if Democrats take the House in 2026.
- The constitutional clause states that each chamber judges the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members.
- Israel points to 1984, when a Democratic House refused to seat Republican Rick McIntyre and ultimately seated Democrat Frank McCloskey after a House inquiry found a four-vote margin.
- He cites Speaker Mike Johnson’s previous seven-week delay in seating Adelita Grijalva as evidence that timing and refusal to seat can shape control.
- Israel contends courts would struggle to reverse such moves and labels the tactic legal but corrosive, while noting no formal plan has been announced.