Republicans’ Reported Plan to Delay Seating of a Democratic Senate

Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, reported that a source with access to White House political data told him Republicans have devised a “contingency plan” to challenge close elections and potentially delay the seating of newly elected Democratic senators. The plan would aim to postpone the constitutionally mandated seating on January 3, 2027 (the date set by the Twentieth Amendment) if initial returns favored Democrats.

Raw Story

The claim emerges amid a midterm cycle in which Democrats are projected by multiple polls to retake the U.S. House and possibly the Senate. Hersh notes that President Donald Trump’s favorability is “plummeting to historic lows” amid his “deeply unpopular war against Iran,” a backdrop that, according to the report, has helped Democrats gain ground. The alleged Republican strategy is presented as a means to retain control of the upper chamber despite unfavorable election outcomes.

Raw Story

Hersh writes that the dispute would ultimately fall to Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican Senate majority leader, who would decide when to bring an election dispute to the Senate floor for an “up-or-down” vote. These assertions are presented as attributed claims from Hersh’s source; no official Republican or governmental confirmation is provided in the source material.

Raw Story

• “In the near term, I have been told that the Republicans will not give up on keeping control of the Senate, even if the initial returns go against them,” — Seymour Hersh, pulitzer prize-winning journalist

Raw Story

• “This mess would eventually fall into the hands of Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the respected Republican Senate majority leader who would be the one to decide when to bring an election dispute to the floor of the Senate for an up-or-down vote,” — Seymour Hersh, pulitzer prize-winning journalist

Raw Story