A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing for a constitutional amendment to address a critical vulnerability in the U.S. government: the potential for mass casualties in Congress to disrupt the legislative branch and give terrorists a chance to shift the balance of power.
Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., Brad Wenstrup, R-O.H., William Timmons, R-S.C., and Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., are spearheading the “doomsday” effort in response to concerns about political violence and the inadequacy of current continuity plans.
The proposed amendment would require each House member to submit at least five names from their party to their state’s governor.
In the event of a member’s death, the governor would choose from this list within 10 days to ensure rapid replacement and continuous representation.
Rep. Kilmer emphasized the urgency of the issue, highlighting the near-mass killing of Republican lawmakers in 2017.
“We’ve seen a 300 percent increase in threats against members over the last seven years, according to the Capitol Police. In an environment where we have seen a growing tendency toward political violence, imagine — horrifically — a baseball practice where someone has bad intentions and better aim,” Kilmer said about a far-Left extremist’s attack.
“You can literally flip a majority for three to four months,” he said. “Which I think is a frightening incentive for political violence.”
The current process for replacing deceased House members through special elections can take several months, leaving districts unrepresented during critical times.
Rep. Wenstrup, who treated House Majority Whip Steve Scalise after the 2017 congressional baseball shooting, is also pushing for the amendment.
“A violent domestic terrorist attempted to assassinate Republican members of Congress,” Wenstrup said. “He had names in his pocket, descriptions in his pocket. This was a clear assassination attempt, and he decided to use murder or assassination as a tool for political change. He wanted to wipe out the Republican majority and change the balance of power.”
The proposal aims to eliminate the incentive for mass political assassinations by ensuring that any replacement would come from the same party as the deceased member.
“In the status quo, a person with bad intentions who is willing to commit political violence to drive an outcome could flip a majority for four months,” Kilmer said. “That is horrifying. That is chilling. And if there’s a mass casualty event, if something bad happens at the State of the Union, what happens? Under current law, Congress would consist of those who skipped it.”
While the amendment faces significant hurdles – requiring a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures – its proponents argue that the stakes are too high to ignore. The recent increase in threats against lawmakers and high-profile incidents of political violence have underscored the need for robust continuity plans.
“I think the reality is, thanks to Kiefer Sutherland, we all have a pretty good understanding of what would happen in the executive branch,” Kilmer said about the former television show Designated Survivor. “But I actually would guess that most members of Congress do not know what would happen to Congress in that situation.”
The proposed amendment has been seen as a proactive approach to safeguarding the legislative branch — and ensuring that acts of violence and terrorism cannot easily disrupt the United States.