Mike Johnson:  ‘Absurd’ to suggest House will block seating of new members 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) insisted Tuesday that he will act “by the book” when swearing in new members of Congress following the midterms, and called concerns over a peaceful transfer of power “absurd.”

At a campaign event in New York, Johnson was questioned about the fear that Republicans could refuse to seat Democratic members if they win a majority in the House. He was asked to commit to the peaceful transfer of power come January, regardless of the results. 

“Of course we’ll have a peaceful transfer of power,” Johnson said.

“The Constitution says when a state certifies the election of members of Congress then they’re administered the oath,” he continued. “That’s what I’ll be doing on January 3 to everybody who’s there. I may not like some of those outcomes, but that’s our system and for anyone to suggest otherwise is absurd.”  

There’s reason not to take Johnson’s assurances entirely at face value. He played a key role in President Donald Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election, and has refused to say that Trump lost the contest.

Some democracy advocates have worried that If Democrats win enough seats to narrowly retake the House, a Republican member could challenge the seating of some Democrats, likely citing concerns over illegal voting. The clerk could potentially then order those challenged members to step aside, and could proceed with the speakership vote and swearing in of other members. A majority of the current GOP-controlled House could ratify those actions and refuse to seat the challenged members. 

Johnson recently questioned polls showing big leads for Democrats in the midterm election, telling Fox News’s Laura Ingraham on Monday he believes the polls are underestimating Republicans. Despite polls showing Republicans in a tough spot, Johnson seemed confident on Tuesday that Republicans will not lose their majority this midterm. 

“I’m sure that people will be upset with the election outcome on the Democrat side when we beat them on Election Day,” Johnson said. “But we’re going to maintain the majority, I’ll be the speaker of the house administering the oath and we’re gonna do it according to the law, as we always do.”