# Kevin McCumber **Kevin F. McCumber** is the 37th **Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives**, sworn in by Speaker [[Mike Johnson]] on **January 3, 2025** at the opening of the 119th Congress. He had served as Acting Clerk since 2023, appointed by then-Speaker [[Kevin McCarthy]] after the resignation of Cheryl Johnson. McCumber is a career officer of the House rather than a political appointee in the usual sense. He first entered the Office of the Clerk in 1996 as a House Page, returned in 2000, and has worked in the office almost continuously since 2012, holding roles across the legislative process. He is a Republican. ## Why the office matters in 2026 The Clerk's job is largely ministerial, and for most of its history that has made it invisible. It became a subject of national attention in September 2026 when the retired conservative judge [[Michael Luttig]] identified the Clerk's roll as the pressure point in a scenario for denying Democrats control of the House after the [[2026 Midterm Elections]]. Two statutory duties do the work: - Under **2 U.S.C. § 26**, the Clerk prepares the roll of representatives-elect, listing every candidate whose state certification shows they were "regularly elected in accordance with the laws of his state or of the United States." That roll determines who may participate in organizing the new Congress before it elects a Speaker. The duty is ministerial: the Clerk has no authority to omit a duly certified member-elect, even one whose election is contested. - Under **Rule II, Clause 1** of the Rules of the House, the Speaker may remove the sitting Clerk unilaterally, and under **2 U.S.C. § 5501(a)** may appoint a temporary replacement until the House elects a successor. Luttig's argument is that those two facts sit badly together: a Speaker who wanted a roll with names missing could, before noon on January 3, 2027, remove the Clerk who would refuse and install one who would not. In Luttig's account McCumber is the obstacle that makes the removal necessary — "widely respected for his integrity and faithful adherence to the Constitution and… reputed to be unwilling to carry out orders he considers to be unconstitutional." > [!note] This is a scenario, not an event > Nothing in the public record indicates that Speaker Johnson has moved to remove McCumber or that McCumber has been asked to omit anyone from the roll. What is established is the statutory structure and Luttig's published warning. See [[Refusal to Seat]] for the doctrine — including why the assumption that courts would intervene is contested — and [[Michael Luttig]] for the argument. ## See Also - [[Refusal to Seat]] — the doctrine this office sits inside - [[Mike Johnson]] — the Speaker who holds the removal power - [[Michael Luttig]] — author of the September 2026 warning that made the office salient - [[Powell v. McCormack]] — the 1969 decision limiting exclusion on *qualifications* grounds; it does not reach the Elections-and-Returns prong - [[Qualifications Clauses]] — Article I, Section 5's grant of power to each House to judge its own elections and returns - [[Writ of Mandamus]] — the remedy Luttig expects members-elect to seek - [[2026 Midterm Elections]] — the election whose certification would run through this roll - [[How a Midterm Election Is Certified]] — the surrounding process