The Justice Department sued the state of Alaska on Thursday in an extraordinary bid to block certification of its U.S. Senate election — but only if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. President Trump said he personally ordered the move, less than two weeks before Election Day.

"I'm the one that said 'do it,'" Trump told reporters, confirming he directed the lawsuit, according to CNBC.

The Theory: A Name Problem

The suit, filed in federal court in Alaska, centers on the fact that a second candidate also named Daniel J. Sullivan is on the ballot alongside the incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan. The DOJ's complaint calls that second candidacy "frivolous" and argues it exists solely to confuse voters in a race expected to be close between the incumbent and Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, per Alaska Beacon.

STRANGE AND UNUSUAL

That's how Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller described the government's legal theory to reporters, adding he doesn't expect the case to move forward before Election Day, if ever, according to CNN.

Only If the Republican Loses

The complaint explicitly asks the court to block certification of a Peltola win while the second Sullivan remains on the ballot — it does not seek to delay certification if the incumbent wins. A spokesman for Sullivan's campaign, Nate Adams, said the campaign would "let the DOJ complaint run its course," according to Newsweek.

The move drops into a midterm cycle already tense over the integrity of the vote count, days after the administration separately pressed California counties to flag potentially noncitizen ballots. Critics say both moves reflect a broader pattern of the administration positioning itself to contest results it might not like.

No hearing date has been set. Alaska election officials have not said whether the litigation will affect the normal certification timeline, which typically follows in the weeks after polls close on November 3.