The other Jan. 6 Democrats are worried about

Democrats person spent overmuch of the 2024 run reminding Americans of what happened connected Jan. 6, 2021. But connected Capitol Hill, immoderate are already increasing acrophobic astir Jan. 6, 2025.

They are hoping that Kamala Harris volition triumph successful November and they’ll flip the House, excessively — meaning it would apt beryllium Hakeem Jeffries holding the speaker's gavel arsenic the process of certifying a Harris triumph gets underway.

But it’s different script that is nagging apical House Democrats — that Speaker Mike Johnson mightiness support his bulk arsenic Harris wins and find himself successful a presumption wherever helium could obstruct the counting of electoral votes and perchance propulsion the predetermination to the House nether the law provisions of the 12th Amendment.

Johnson, aft all, led House Republicans successful filing an amicus little aft the 2020 predetermination asking the Supreme Court to fundamentally overturn swing-state results, an effort personally blessed by Donald Trump. Now, he’s starring a complaint suggesting that undocumented immigrants are voting en masse successful what Democrats presumption arsenic a coordinated effort to sow uncertainty successful the predetermination and laic the groundwork for mischief.

“It would beryllium silly to disregard the past here,” said Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the apical Democrat connected the House Administration Committee who has led his party’s pushback connected GOP voting claims.

Adding to the anxiousness is that Johnson, successful the post-election period, mightiness besides beryllium successful a enactment dogfight wherever helium mightiness beryllium compelled to beryllium his mettle to MAGA-minded members — not to notation Trump himself — by pledging to situation the predetermination results.

A Johnson adjutant dismissed the Democratic concerns arsenic an effort to rise wealth to flip the House and said they were portion of an alarmist communicative that helped pb to the 2 assassination attempts targeting Trump.

Other Republicans adjacent with Johnson told america they doubted the talker would succumb to Trump’s wishes truthful easily. They noted helium withstood MAGA unit connected Ukraine funding, and they drew a favoritism betwixt penning a ineligible little arsenic a back-bencher and moving to overturn the volition of voters arsenic a law officer.

Other roadblocks are successful place, arsenic well: For one, it volition beryllium Harris, arsenic vice president, who volition really preside implicit the certification of electoral votes, arsenic Mike Pence famously did successful 2021. And nether a 2022 rewrite of the Electoral Count Act, the instrumentality governing the process, it’s present overmuch harder to entity to the counting of votes. Rather than a azygous member, it present requires 20 percent of each enclosure to proceed with an objection.

Yet Democrats are inactive fearful, fretting implicit unresolved ambiguities successful the Constitution and successful the instrumentality surrounding the certification process, arsenic good arsenic the information that Johnson could beryllium successful complaint for Republicans travel Jan. 6.

They fearfulness his constitutional-law background, blimpish question bona fides and aw-shucks demeanor could marque him uniquely formidable successful a contested-election script — crisp capable to travel up with caller ineligible arguments that could propulsion the predetermination to the House and savvy capable to get his members connected board.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Democratic law instrumentality adept who tangled with Johnson implicit his 2020 brief, paraphrased the past Greek writer Hesiod: “He has the muses accidental thing like, ‘We cognize however to archer the information erstwhile we privation to archer the truth. And erstwhile we privation to archer lies, we cognize however to archer lies that look similar the truth.’ And that's however I presumption Johnson’s jurisprudence.”

“He tin authorities what the Constitution truly says — and past helium knows however to marque polished arguments for Trump that are utterly mendacious and would gut our law system,” Raskin (D-Md.) said.

While Raskin and different Democrats were loath to speculate astir however precisely Johnson and different Republicans could perchance wreak electoral havoc aft voting is done, the pursuing concerns person circulated connected Capitol Hill:

— That Johnson could effort to rewrite the rules that govern the Jan. 6 vote-counting session. For the past period oregon so, the 2 chambers person unanimously adopted boilerplate, bipartisan procedures for the count. Johnson could determine to effort to constitute his own, inserting provisions that would unfastened up caller avenues to situation the results, oregon simply garbage to follow a process astatine all, creating ambiguity and doubt.

— That Johnson could muster capable Republicans to entity to definite contested slates of electors — and, if the GOP besides holds the Senate, perchance stitchery the votes to propulsion those slates out. If neither campaigner receives 270 electoral votes, the House could person authorization nether the 12th Amendment to take the winner.

— That Johnson could hold the vote-counting session. While the Jan. 6 day is written successful law, it’s the talker who has to telephone the House to bid first. Democrats interest that Johnson could fundamentally propulsion intermission — overmuch arsenic Trump allies disquieted aft the 2020 predetermination that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi mightiness bash the aforesaid and spell to the courts. (A related fear: What if determination is nary talker astatine each connected Jan. 6 — arsenic determination was 2 years ago, erstwhile Kevin McCarthy was struggling to triumph the gavel?)

— That Johnson could situation the Electoral Count Act entirely. Under a caller ineligible theory, helium could inquire a tribunal to regularisation that the instrumentality connected the books cannot hindrance Congress from exercising its powerfulness nether the Constitution — again defaulting to the process laid retired successful the 12th Amendment.

Democratic suspicions astir Johnson are thing new. When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) moved earlier this twelvemonth to footwear Johnson retired arsenic speaker, Democrats faced a dilemma connected whether to support him connected a cardinal procedural vote. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a subordinate of the House prime Jan. 6 panel, warned her colleagues to deliberation cautiously earlier helping a antheral they’ve derided arsenic an “election denier.”

Most Democrats, including Lofgren, swallowed their concerns and voted to support Johnson. Now immoderate fearfulness that informing volition beryllium ringing successful their ears. Just hours aft the vote, Johnson told POLITICO helium had nary regrets astir his 2020 amicus brief: “I would bash the nonstop aforesaid happening contiguous if the circumstances were presented, due to the fact that I consciousness similar I person a duty.”

“The Supreme Court dodged the question — possibly they calculated that the reply was truthful profound, it would beryllium truthful unsettling, and it was not worthy them addressing,” helium said. “But … I thought that was an important question to airs to the court.”

Jeffries blessed the determination to support Johnson, and immoderate Democrats are looking to him to intervene with Johnson and caput disconnected immoderate post-election drama. The 2 leaders person struck up a amazingly lukewarm idiosyncratic and nonrecreational relationship, and Johnson has antecedently spoken astir their shared religion and rapport.

One Johnson state besides pointed retired that Johnson is besides adjacent with Pence, different blimpish Christian who fell retired of Trump’s favour erstwhile refused to bash his bidding connected Jan. 6, 2021. This idiosyncratic predicted that portion Johnson would effort to enactment successful MAGA’s bully graces aft the election, helium would not spell rogue successful the mode Democrats fear.

Again, these worst-case scenarios are each rather improbable — starting with the improbability of a concern wherever Harris wins and Republicans person majorities successful some chambers. But the chances for havoc during the electoral ballot number 4 years agone seemed unthinkable, too.

So Democrats aren’t leaving thing to chance. Senior lawmakers are already privately gathering to game-plan for each the antithetic ways the post-election play could spell sideways. They’re besides raising their worries with donors, urging them to springiness generously to marque definite the enactment flips the House and nips immoderate imaginable play successful the bud.

“I person religion successful people,” Morelle said, sharing his content that Johnson would “do the close thing” successful a contested scenario. “But we’re prepared for immoderate eventuality and … we’ll beryllium successful a presumption to property guardant and marque definite there’s a peaceful transfer.”

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.

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