'Destructive devotion': Ex-Republican sounds alarm over naked 'rump House' scheme

A longtime conservative warned that President Donald Trump is laying groundwork to interfere with the November midterms, and identified one particular scheme to allow Republicans to keep their majority no matter what voters say.

This week's Supreme Court ruling on mail-in ballots is just one visible piece of a broader effort by Trump and his MAGA allies to subvert the midterm election, which starts in just four weeks with early voting in some states, wrote The Bulwark's Mona Charen.

"The polls and projections look good for Democrats, this is not an ordinary election year," wrote Charen, who was a staffer in Ronald Reagan's White House. "Trump is weakened and flailing, yes, but he remains determined to prevent a free and fair election in November if he possibly can. And he does not lack for lackeys."

The Justice Department demanded voter rolls from 48 states from 2025, although most states resisted in ongoing litigation, and Trump gutted the cybersecurity agency protecting elections from foreign interference while also ranting that China had stolen the 2020 election from him.

"Meanwhile, Trump instructed Republicans in red states to engage in naked, midcycle gerrymandering," Charen wrote. "There was no pretense that this was an effort to respond to Democratic gerrymandering. Several states with Democratic majorities like California and Virginia had recently taken steps to limit partisan gerrymandering. Regarding Texas, which was the first state to salute smartly and carry out Trump’s wishes, Trump said: 'Just a simple redrawing; we pick up five seats.'"

Charen raised the possibility of ICE agents at polling places, referencing Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's comments questioning objections to the idea, and then speculated about another scenario the president's allies could carry out.

"There's another possibility, too, one that would require more coordination among Republicans willing to do anything for Trump — but we’ve seen that kind of destructive devotion before," Charen wrote. "If governors and secretaries of state in the right combination of states find reason — however flimsy or farcical — to avoid certifying November’s vote by the time Congress convenes on January 3, it’s possible that the rump House that assembles could have a Republican 'majority.'"

"That 'majority' could elect a speaker, and that speaker could thereafter delay seating rightfully elected Democrats even after their elections are certified, as Speaker Mike Johnson did for many weeks after a special election in 2025," she added.