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I’m curious what the mechanism is, that I am assuming exists, that would allow elected senators and congressman to assume the seat that they were elected for if the current senator or congressman will not vacate their seat. I am considering the recent case where a congresswoman was elected but the speaker of the house would not call the necessary mechanism to order to qualify or admit that congresswoman and allow her to exercise her elected duty. I’m concerned because I don’t understand what could happen if the midterm elections occur and existing senators or congressmen refuse to vacate their seats. Thanks in advance for your time.
Members of the House of Representatives serve for two years. Senators serve for six years. There seats are automatically vacated at the end of their term. Maybe they can sit in the chair, but they have no rights as members of Congress. The more interesting question is what happens if the House or Senate refuses to seat new members as happened in the first session of the Thirty-Ninth Congress. The members of the new House determine the credentials of members, so it is always possible an election winner will not be seated.
