On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Republican state senators refused to seat Democratic Senator Jim Brewster, whose narrow reelection victory in November is being challenged by his Republican opponent.

When the presiding officer, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, a Democrat, objected to the motion and insisted that Brewster be sworn in, the Republicans, who control the legislative chamber, forced Fetterman from the podium and took control of the proceedings.

The extraordinary move triggered a shouting match, while Fetterman stood silent at the podium as Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, a Republican, put forward a motion to replace him as presiding officer with himself. The motion passed on a party-line vote, after which the newly elected members of the Senate, with the exception of Brewster, were sworn in.

Democratic state senators, after scattered protests, allowed the anti-democratic farce to proceed, while Fetterman left the chamber.

Taking their lead from President Donald Trump and his co-conspirators within the Republican Party and the corporate-financial oligarchy, Brewster’s opponent, Nicole Ziccarelli, and state Senate Republican leaders are seeking to overturn Ziccarelli’s election loss by disqualifying many mail-in ballots from Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh.