In 1919, the House voted 309-1 to keep a socialist out of Congress.
Now socialists are on the ballot Tuesday in New York and Colorado – and Republicans just found the same weapon.
That constitutional weapon still exists – and House Republicans are ready to use it.
Darializa Avila Chevalier and the DSA Candidates Who Swept the 2026 Midterm Primaries
The Democratic Socialists of America released their "Workers Deserve More!" platform in June – a demolition plan for the constitutional system of government.
The platform calls for abolishing the Senate, replacing the president and Supreme Court with Congress-appointed leaders, and drafting an entirely new constitution – plus pardons for every illegal alien in the country, including those convicted of violent crimes, and noncitizen voting in federal elections.
DSA national co-chair Megan Romer confirmed the entire agenda on television in July.
Abolish the Senate? Romer said one word: "True."
Replace the presidency and Supreme Court? Her answer was just as short: "Absolutely."
Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, Melat Kiros in Colorado, and Claire Valdez in New York all won their primaries and head into Tuesday with a clear path to Congress.
Chevalier won her primary by defeating a senior sitting House Democrat in his own district.
She is going to win Tuesday.
How the Congressional Oath of Office Becomes a Weapon Against DSA Socialists
Rep. Keith Self of Texas says the House already has the weapon to stop them.
At the beginning of every new Congress, all 435 members-elect take the oath of office en masse – swearing to support and defend the Constitution.
The Center for Renewing America has already laid out exactly how: any member-elect can formally challenge another's right to take that oath by presenting evidence they cannot take it in good faith.
That challenge triggers a full House debate – and then a vote.
Self told Fox News Digital that anyone who has "personally embraced the destruction of the Constitution has no business being sworn in to uphold it."
Self is also a co-sponsor of the Communist Control Act of 2026 – introduced by Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia – which updates the 1954 law of the same name to explicitly classify the Democratic Socialists of America as a communist organization.
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee is already targeting Chevalier, citing a deleted 2019 post in which she boasted about wiping her hands on the American flag instead of using a napkin.
Rep. Greg Steube of Florida is pushing a permanent House rule that would bar any member-elect who refuses to take the oath.
In 1919, the House voted 309-1 to block Victor Berger – the first socialist congressman ever elected – from taking his seat.
Republicans now argue the 1969 Supreme Court case that gets cited against them does not settle the question.
Powell v. McCormack ruled that the House cannot exclude a duly elected member who meets the constitutional requirements for office – age, residency, and U.S. citizenship.
But Berger was blocked on loyalty grounds, not constitutional qualifications.
And Self's argument is different from both: it is not about adding a new qualification, but about whether someone can honestly swear an oath they have publicly committed to violating.
No court has ever settled that question.
Speaker Mike Johnson has already signaled he won't touch it – calling it a nonsense narrative and promising to seat every elected member without a fight.
Johnson's position means Republicans would need to go around their own Speaker to make the challenge stick.
What Happens When Mike Johnson Lets DSA Socialists Take the Oath on January 3
The legal argument Self and the Center for Renewing America are making is stronger than Johnson lets on.
The Powell ruling was about financial misconduct – an attempt to add a qualification the Constitution doesn't list.
Oath sincerity has never been tested in court – and if it ever reaches the Supreme Court, there is no guarantee the justices land the same way.
Johnson is surrendering a legal fight before it's even filed.
Republicans did build the record: the Communist Control Act, the anti-socialism resolution, Steube's proposed rule, and the Center for Renewing America's legal roadmap all exist.
What's missing is the will to use it.
On January 3rd, Chevalier, Kiros, and the DSA's new class will raise their right hands and swear an oath to the same Constitution their own co-chair said on live television they plan to scrap.
Every Republican who votes to seat them owns every bill those socialists file to dismantle the country.
Johnson called it a nonsense narrative. He owns what comes after January 3rd.
Sources:
- Elizabeth Elkind, "Little-known rule could stop socialists from being sworn into Congress," Fox News, October 29, 2026.
- "Report: Democrat Lawmakers Sidestep Questions About Constitution-Killing Socialist Platform," Breitbart, July 2026.
- Dmitri Bolt, "Republicans Are Dusting Off an Old Anti-Communist Law to Take on the DSA," Townhall, October 7, 2026.
- Jarrett Stepman, "The Democratic Socialists of America's Platform Explicitly Aims to Destroy the Constitution," The Daily Signal, June 25, 2026.
- "DSA Co-Chair Megan Romer Embraces Abolishing Senate, ICE and Borders as Democratic Infighting Escalates," Washington Examiner, August 27, 2026.