Always realize that the SSPX have been thoroughly infiltrated, so that whatever action they take will have been carried out in close coordination with the Vatican.
I believe that they absolutely need to give the perception that the consecrand(s) will have been selected independently of any influence from Rome. Otherwise, had Rome approved both the consecration and the candidate(s), he / they would always operate under a cloud of suspicion, with every move of their scrutinized, so that even subtle pivots to the left would not go unnoticed.
So, these people are evil, but not stupid.
What I fully expect to happen is that they'll select one or two known (to them) infiltrators, in cooperation with Rome behind the scenes, and then pronounce the ex-communitication ... only to quickly lift it in the intersts of that cardinal Conciliar virtue of "mercy".
That way, they have their cake and get to eat it too, where they give the appearance of having acted independently while also having the excomm lifted. I speak occasionally with the new crowds at SSPX chapel, and several have told me directly that were it not for the fact that they consider SSPX to be in "good standing" with Rome and to have "jurisdiction" (they believe this propaganda), they wouldn't be there and these would undoubtedly leave.
So, SSPX can't afford that either. That's one of the reasons their handlers had them undertake these inexplicably imprudent projects, such as the $50 million seminary and the $25 million Immaculata, and many chapel building projects that are also on the edge of bankruptcy, stretched to the limits. That makes it all the more essential for them to comply with the wishes of Krah / Jaidhoff, and do as they're told ... but they also can't afford to lose a significant percentate of their Mass attendees, or they'd be spending the next few years in bankruptcy courts. That's WHY they did these stupid building projects that make absolutely no sense whatsoever, so that the controllers had even more leverage to exert against them.