House Speaker Mike Johnson has the power to remove the current House Clerk, Kevin McCumber, and replace him temporarily with a MAGA loyalist.
Posted by Letters from an American, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Letters from an AmericanSep 13, 2026
Multiple sources, all tracing to Luttig's analysis and a Toobin column, report that the Speaker has unilateral power under House Rule II, Clause 1 to remove the clerk and under 2 U.S.C. § 5501(a) to replace him temporarily.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Ludwig focuses on the ability of House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican of Louisiana, to prevent the recognition of duly elected Democratic representatives on January 3. Johnson has the power, Ludwig says, to remove the current House Clerk, Kevin Mccumber, and replace him temporarily with a MAGA loyalist who will refuse to list Democrats on the roll of those elected to the 100 and twentieth Congress. In this scenario, once Democrats are eliminated, they will have to get a federal court to order the temporary clerk to list their names. …
Letters from an American · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. A Raw Story piece citing a New York Times column by Jeffrey Toobin quotes that the speaker 'does have the unilateral power to remove the clerk,' while noting that a permanent replacement would need a House vote, which fits a temporary replacement.[1]
Supports. Alternet and Truthout report that Rule II, Clause 1 of the House Rules gives the Speaker unilateral power to remove the incumbent clerk, and that 2 U.S.C. § 5501(a) lets the Speaker temporarily replace him with anyone he chooses until the House elects a successor.[2][3]
Supports. Truthdig's report on Luttig's scenario states that the Speaker has the unilateral power to remove the incumbent clerk, consistent with the claimed power.[4]
Context. Most sources repeat Luttig's New Republic essay, so they are not independent confirmation of the legal reading. No source disputes the power, and the sources do not show it has been exercised.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 tier 3, 6 not rated
- 1'Disaster scenario' revealed in which Mike Johnson overturns election resultsrawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: supports
- 2Ex-federal judge reveals Trump’s plan for 'catastrophic end' of democracyalternet.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 3Trump’s Final Battle to Sabotage the Midtermstruthout.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 4Will Jan. 3 Be the New Jan. 6? - Truthdigtruthdig.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 5The Final Battle for America’s Democracynewrepublic.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Big lie on Common Dreams's sitecommondreams.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 7“The Final Battle for America’s Democracy.” | Portsideportside.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Speaker Mike Johnson has the power to replace the current House clerk with a loyalist who could refuse to list Democrats on the roll of those elected to the 120th Congress.True
- Kevin McCumber was appointed as Clerk of the House of Representatives by Kevin McCarthy.True
- Mike Johnson is the Speaker of the House.True
- Speaker Mike Johnson has maintained a House majority of one or two members.True
- Speaker Johnson refused to see Congresswoman-elect Krahulba for weeks to delay the implementation of the Epstein Transparency Act.Can’t tell