# Republicans Float a Little-Known House Rule to Challenge DSA Members-Elect at Swearing-In, Though a 1969 Supreme Court Ruling Stands in the Way

Fox News reports that Rep. Keith Self says he could object to seating members-elect who back scrapping the Constitution. Speaker Johnson has called the idea of refusing to seat Democrats a 'nonsense narrative,' and Powell v. McCormack limits what the House can do.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-10-29
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/keith-self-burchett-dsa-oath-challenge-house-swearing-in-powell-v-mccormack-fox-news/

Five days before the midterms, some House Republicans are talking about how to keep certain Democrats from taking the oath of office, Fox News reports.

The idea. At the start of a new Congress, all 435 members are normally sworn in together, led by the Speaker. Fox says an argument circulating in conservative circles holds that any member-elect can challenge another's right to be sworn in if they have gathered evidence that the person would not uphold the oath. That would trigger House-wide debate and a vote. For members of the Democratic Socialists of America, Fox says, one possible argument is the group's platform calling for scrapping the current Constitution and drafting a new one. Several DSA members and self-described democratic socialists have already won primaries.

Who is saying it. Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital he could invoke the maneuver. "You cannot swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution while actively working to destroy it," he said. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told the New York Post earlier this month he would try to block Darializa Avila Chevalier, whose primary win unseated a senior House Democrat. Burchett cited a now-deleted 2019 X post in which she boasted about wiping her hands on the American flag because she had no napkin. Fox says she is almost certain to win her general election in a deep-blue district.

The process. Fox cites an analysis by the Center for Renewing America. A challenge could be followed by the Speaker asking the member-elect to step aside during debate, and then a House vote on a resolution about whether the person remains committed to destroying the constitutional order. If it passed, the person could be kept out.

The obstacles. The plan depends on who holds the gavel. A Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., could dismiss the challenge. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters in Iowa this month the idea that he would refuse to seat elected Democrats is a "nonsense narrative" and promised, "We are going to follow the law." Fox also notes the 1969 Supreme Court case Powell v. McCormack. The House had refused to seat Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., D-N.Y., after his 1966 win, amid financial scandals, and the Court ruled the House cannot exclude someone who meets the constitutional requirements of age, residency and citizenship. Fox says any such move is "virtually guaranteed" to be relitigated.

Note for readers: this is a theory some Republicans are testing, not a plan the House has adopted. Fox does not say any member has filed a challenge. We have not seen the Center for Renewing America analysis.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/little-known-rule-could-stop-socialists-from-being-sworn-congress)