Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) did not invite McCormick to the meetings, called for all new Senate members, noting that about 100,000 ballots must be counted in his Senate race.

“As is customary, we will invite the winner once the votes are counted,” Schumer said in a statement Sunday.

However, three GOP senators — Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Katie Britt (R-AL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) — plan to allow him into the building anyway so he can be escorted to orientation . It’s unclear how Schumer would fare with his coming to the Senate.

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Democrats are holding out hope that their incumbent, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), still has a narrow path to victory once tens of thousands of provisional ballots are counted.

Right now, he leads McCormick by nearly 40,000 votes.

But the decision to exclude McCormick has sparked an uproar among Senate Republicans, who say he is being unfairly excluded. The Associated Press called the race for McCormick three days ago in one of the biggest upsets of the 2024 cycle.

“Dave McCormick is the new senator for Pennsylvania. The idea that Schumer would not allow him to attend Senate orientation is beyond unacceptable,” said Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-SD). POSTED on X.

The Casey campaign argues that the outstanding ballots are in counties favorable enough to change the outcome of the race, despite the McCormick camp insisting that Casey has no mathematical path to victory.

The fight played out, in part, in the courts, with McCormick suing to disqualify certain provisional ballots. If less than half a percentage point continues to separate McCormick from Casey, the race could go to a recount.

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Schumer’s decision to exclude McCormick from the orientation is in contrast to House custom, in which both candidates participate if the race is undecided. Schumer also reportedly didn’t invite Ruben Gallego, the leading Democrat in Arizona’s uncontested Senate race.

The house will hold its own freshman orientation next week, despite a few races remaining too close to call. Republicans are expected to hold the House, while McCormick would give Republicans a 53-seat majority in the Senate.