Next week, Congress is set to convene and certify the results of the 2024 presidential election, officially making Donald Trump the 47th president of the United States.
But there’s a very real chance the House of Representatives will be busy trying to determine who will be the next speaker of the House, which could take weeks and indefinitely delay election certification, a scenario that would humiliate Trump and leave the GOP in total disarray.
According to CNN, Republicans are terrified about what could be on the horizon.
But this time, there’s a huge shadow over the race: Congress has never before tried to certify a presidential election without a House speaker in place. Even senior Republicans say it’s unclear what would happen if there is no speaker on January 6 — when Congress is scheduled to certify Trump’s win — and they’re not eager not to find out.
“To oppose Johnson now weakens the GOP and strengthens Hakeem Jeffries. It also puts at risk the Electoral College Certification scheduled for 6 Jan. These guys serve as a ‘fifth column’ for the Dems,” Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told CNN.
Here’s the conundrum facing Republicans: They can’t conduct official business in the House if they don’t have a speaker, which would leave them with two options that have never been tried before: Electing a temporary speaker or doing without one completely.
“Some Republicans are privately discussing ways to push the procedural limits so that Congress could certify Trump’s win without a leader. One person described an “emergency break glass option” that would involve allowing the House to vote to go into a special session. But that would be a tough sell for many institutionalist Republicans.”
Another possibility is to move up the date of Trump’s certification, making sure it takes place sometime before he’s inaugurated on Jan. 20. But what if that fails, too? In that case, it would likely trigger a constitutional crisis that the country has never experienced before.
Would Biden remain as president? The country has to have a president, right?
January is going to be an interesting month. And it could well end with Trump still waiting to be officially named as head of state. That’s certain to enrage him and make Republicans look incompetent.
