By Greg Sargent
Columnist |
November 10, 2022 at 1:10 p.m. EST
Although Democrats shocked the political world by overperforming in this week’s elections, there’s still a good chance Republicans will end up controlling the House. If so, there will be zero time to waste: Lawmakers should use the lame-duck period before the new Congress is sworn in to build safeguards against a GOP-controlled House’s capacity to sow full-blown chaos.
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This imperative doesn’t apply just to Democrats. Plenty of Republicans, particularly in the Senate, discern the threats posed by a GOP House. They could join Democrats in acting for the good of the country — and for the good of their own party as well. Political scientist Jonathan Bernstein calls this the “crazyproofing agenda,” and, in at least some of these cases, that’s not much of an overstatement.
Here are five ways Congress can act in the lame-duck period, if necessary:
1
House Republicans are already threatening to use potential breaches of the debt limit — which would trigger default and economic disaster — to extract policy concessions from President Biden and Democrats on other fronts.
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Congress should neutralize this weapon of extortion, because even the mere playing of this game threatens severe damage. In the lame duck, Democrats in the Senate — joined by Republicans who recognize the threat — could raise the debt limit beyond what would be needed during the Biden presidency, or even much higher, rendering it void. Or Congress could transfer control of debt limit hikes to the treasury secretary.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and other Republicans might see self-interested motives for this. Imagine Donald Trump running for president next year while urging a MAGA-fied House to maximize debt limit extortion to damage Biden. Would incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) really resist? McConnell might not want to get caught between Trump and GOP senators who don’t want to imperil the global economy.
Any GOP House majority is now certain to be very narrow, which would only further empower the MAGA caucus to create chaos by withholding its support for debt limit hikes. McCarthy would be loath to raise the limit with Democrats, because that could subject him to the MAGA caucus’s wrath and possibly mean a leadership challenge.
But in truth, this is a no-brainer even if Republicans don’t win the House, because the debt limit is a useless relic. There’s no good-faith reason to weaponize it, as it involves borrowing to cover spending Congress has already appropriated. If 10 GOP senators won’t act, Democrats should use the simple-majority reconciliation process to raise and neutralize it.
2
A GOP House takeover would make the case for revising the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which dictates how Congress counts presidential electors, even stronger than it already is.
In the wake of the 2024 presidential election, a GOP House could very well vote against counting legitimate electors from one or more swing states won by a Democrat. In this election, the ranks of election deniers in the House have grown.
In another scenario, if Kari Lake becomes governor of Arizona, she could certify sham electors for a losing GOP candidate. (Lake has explicitly said she wouldn’t have certified Joe Biden’s electors.) Or a GOP-controlled state legislature could defy a Democratic governor and try to appoint the loser’s electors by itself. A GOP House could count such sham electors, potentially meaning a constitutional crisis or stolen election.
Reforms advancing in the Senate and House would help avert such scenarios. They would require Congress to count the correct electors, mandate that governors certify electors in keeping with the rule of law and create frameworks for court challenges to abuses.
Importantly, 10 Republican senators support this approach. It’s in the interests of principled Republicans: If it’s harder to pull off such a scheme, those Republicans will face less pressure from bad actors to execute it. Even if Republicans don’t win the House, Congress should do these reforms in the lame duck, while 10 GOP senators are still willing to support them.
Columnist |
November 10, 2022 at 1:10 p.m. EST
Although Democrats shocked the political world by overperforming in this week’s elections, there’s still a good chance Republicans will end up controlling the House. If so, there will be zero time to waste: Lawmakers should use the lame-duck period before the new Congress is sworn in to build safeguards against a GOP-controlled House’s capacity to sow full-blown chaos.
Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates
This imperative doesn’t apply just to Democrats. Plenty of Republicans, particularly in the Senate, discern the threats posed by a GOP House. They could join Democrats in acting for the good of the country — and for the good of their own party as well. Political scientist Jonathan Bernstein calls this the “crazyproofing agenda,” and, in at least some of these cases, that’s not much of an overstatement.
Here are five ways Congress can act in the lame-duck period, if necessary:
1
Defuse future debt ceiling crises
Return to menuHouse Republicans are already threatening to use potential breaches of the debt limit — which would trigger default and economic disaster — to extract policy concessions from President Biden and Democrats on other fronts.
ADVERTISING
Congress should neutralize this weapon of extortion, because even the mere playing of this game threatens severe damage. In the lame duck, Democrats in the Senate — joined by Republicans who recognize the threat — could raise the debt limit beyond what would be needed during the Biden presidency, or even much higher, rendering it void. Or Congress could transfer control of debt limit hikes to the treasury secretary.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and other Republicans might see self-interested motives for this. Imagine Donald Trump running for president next year while urging a MAGA-fied House to maximize debt limit extortion to damage Biden. Would incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) really resist? McConnell might not want to get caught between Trump and GOP senators who don’t want to imperil the global economy.
Any GOP House majority is now certain to be very narrow, which would only further empower the MAGA caucus to create chaos by withholding its support for debt limit hikes. McCarthy would be loath to raise the limit with Democrats, because that could subject him to the MAGA caucus’s wrath and possibly mean a leadership challenge.
But in truth, this is a no-brainer even if Republicans don’t win the House, because the debt limit is a useless relic. There’s no good-faith reason to weaponize it, as it involves borrowing to cover spending Congress has already appropriated. If 10 GOP senators won’t act, Democrats should use the simple-majority reconciliation process to raise and neutralize it.
2
Reduce the risk of a stolen presidential election
Return to menuA GOP House takeover would make the case for revising the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which dictates how Congress counts presidential electors, even stronger than it already is.
In the wake of the 2024 presidential election, a GOP House could very well vote against counting legitimate electors from one or more swing states won by a Democrat. In this election, the ranks of election deniers in the House have grown.
In another scenario, if Kari Lake becomes governor of Arizona, she could certify sham electors for a losing GOP candidate. (Lake has explicitly said she wouldn’t have certified Joe Biden’s electors.) Or a GOP-controlled state legislature could defy a Democratic governor and try to appoint the loser’s electors by itself. A GOP House could count such sham electors, potentially meaning a constitutional crisis or stolen election.
Reforms advancing in the Senate and House would help avert such scenarios. They would require Congress to count the correct electors, mandate that governors certify electors in keeping with the rule of law and create frameworks for court challenges to abuses.
Importantly, 10 Republican senators support this approach. It’s in the interests of principled Republicans: If it’s harder to pull off such a scheme, those Republicans will face less pressure from bad actors to execute it. Even if Republicans don’t win the House, Congress should do these reforms in the lame duck, while 10 GOP senators are still willing to support them.