A new enemy might require a new playbook, or maybe just dusting off an old one.

Georgia Republican Rich McCormick has officially introduced the Communist Control Act of 2026, which would amend the 1954 law of the same name to include the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The measure would place the DSA in the same legal category as the Communist Party of the United States, potentially stripping the organization of certain rights, privileges, and immunities under the decades-old national security law.

“The Democratic Socialists of America has told us exactly what it wants to do, and we should believe them,” said Congressman McCormick in an official statement. “They want to rewrite our Constitution and fundamentally restructure the government of the United States. America has confronted this ideology before. We cannot sit back and watch it gain a foothold in our institutions. The Communist Control Act of 2026 makes clear that we will defend our Constitution, our freedoms, and the system of government that has made America the greatest and best country in the world.”

Additional co-sponsors of the bill include Rep. Clay Fuller (R-GA), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Keith Self (R-TX).

What the bill would actually accomplish, even if it passed both houses of Congress and received President Trump’s signature, remains unclear. Its stated goal is to treat the DSA like the Communist Party of the United States, but many of the enforcement mechanisms once used against the Communists have been repealed, no longer exist, or would likely face serious legal challenges. The bill could, however, set the stage for renewed court battles and give Congress an opportunity to put the DSA’s agenda under scrutiny. 

McCormick certainly got one thing right: the DSA wants to “rewrite our Constitution and fundamentally restructure the government” in ways antithetical to America’s founding principles. That is not merely a political vision, it is a serious threat to the country’s constitutional order, and something must be done to address it.