substack.com
Joyce Strong (@joycemstrong)
If you want to catch a bad actor, you have to think like one. That’s what What is to Be Done is doing here — stress-testing the rules to show where they could be pushed. The key point is a little-known moment on January 3, before anyone is sworn in. The House Clerk reads the roll. The Vice President presides over the Senate. Only the people recognized in that opening sequence are allowed to participate. If a member-elect is challenged, they’re told to step aside temporarily, and then a simple majority of those recognized decides whether that person gets seated. Because the Constitution says each chamber judges its own elections, that decision largely stays inside the chamber, and courts may not intervene quickly. That means the real fight for control could happen before the oath, when procedure determines who even counts. This isn’t predicting it will happen. It’s mapping the vulnerability. Think like a bad actor, identify the pressure point, and you understand where the system could be pushed.
