Experts are split on whether any Congress can pass a law that would dictate how its successors certify presidential elections. Typically, the House and Senate have the constitutional power to set their own rules, which can be changed at will. Attempting to legislate against this would be unconstitutional. But the Electoral College certification is so significant that many constitutional scholars say it overrides that congressional prerogative.

Still, their view is, practically speaking, irrelevant. What matters most is how leaders of the Congress elected in 2024 and future presidential years behave. They’re not beholden to adopt the prevailing view of the scholarly community, and congressional leaders often don’t.

Some of Trump’s closest allies, including a few lawmakers, spent months after his 2020 defeat crafting legal theories that the Electoral Count Act is unconstitutional, urging then-Vice President Mike Pence to ignore it in a bid to keep Biden from the presidency. If a future Congress decides the Electoral Count Act can’t govern the Jan. 6 certification, these fringe theories would serve as a blueprint — and there’s little recourse to overrule them.