据《纽约时报》一篇新文章称，民主党人正在研究总统 Donald Trump 可能试图干预即将到来的中期选举的多种方式。文章指出了一种较少被讨论的情景：涉及一名单一官员，其被罢免可能扰乱新当选众议院议员就任的程序——而且根据众议院规则，这一做法可能可以依法尝试。

资深记者 Jeffrey Toobin 周一为《纽约时报》撰文称，Trump 对防止共和党在中期选举中惨败的“执念”仍然是一个现实担忧，尽管他推动选举舞弊说法的努力迄今未能获得广泛支持。Toobin 采访了来自纽约的民主党众议员 Joe Morelle，讨论民主党针对多种可能的选后情景所做的规划，包括总统或其盟友在投票结束后试图阻止部分结果认证的努力。近期，随着 Trump 将重点放在与谁有资格投票相关的行动上，这一担忧受到的关注有所减少。

“To install a new House of Representatives, the process begins when the states certify the results in each of the 435 races. The rules vary by state, but most require election officials to certify by late November or early December,” Toobin explained. “In recent years, Trump-aligned local officials have frequently used false claims of fraud or noncitizens voting as justification to decline to certify election results. Since 2020, more than 30 local officials in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina and Pennsylvania have refused to certify election results, many in hopes of forestalling Democratic victories.”

Morelle 表示，如果出现这种可能性，民主党的回应将是起诉 Trump 或其盟友官员，并指出民主党近期在利用法院迫使地方官员认证选举结果方面“取得过成功”。认证是一个关键步骤，因为各州会提交正式结果，以决定下一届国会召开时哪些人作为当选议员出现。

Toobin 还描述了另一个潜在脆弱点：众议院书记官，其职责包括编制将于 Jan. 3, 2027 宣誓就职的新议员“名册”。现任书记官 Kevin McCumber 被广泛视为一名“无党派”官员，预计不会配合 Trump 提出的任何干预议员宣誓就职的要求。由于众议院必须在新一届国会开始时先完成自身组织，才能开展普通立法事务，初始名册可能影响谁被承认为有资格参与这一程序。

“One disaster scenario, according to Mr. Morelle, would be this: After results show the Democrats winning a majority in the House, the president declares that the election is full of fraud and the winners don’t need to be certified,” Toobin wrote. “Mr. Trump could then demand that Speaker Mike Johnson fire Mr. McCumber, which Mr. Johnson has the legal right to do. Under the procedures of the House, the speaker can install a more compliant successor — that is, a G.O.P. toady. In this scenario, Speaker Johnson’s designee, at Mr. Trump’s instigation, would produce a roll of new House members that included Republicans in races that Democrats believed they had won.”

Toobin 补充说，尽管议长拥有单方面罢免书记官的权力，但永久替代人选需要经众议院议员投票批准。Morelle 告诉《纽约时报》，在这种情况下，Johnson 可能无法说服其微弱的共和党多数支持更换 McCumber。

“You’d have a number of members who are retiring, who I think would no longer be beholden to Johnson or the president, who I think would take a very, very dim view of efforts to overturn the election,” Morelle said.