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Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as the Republican speaker with the smallest House majority in history. Despite maintaining control of the House, he will be leading an even smaller majority during a time when President-elect Donald J. Trump will rely on his support to push through key agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting live from the seat of
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased even further.
The last House race was concluded on Tuesday evening when Representative John Duarte, a new Republican, accepted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray in California. This solidified the Republican party’s majority at 220-215 in the House, which is a narrower margin compared to their current 220-213 majority.
The margins will decrease even more in January when Representatives Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz resign from their positions to work in the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz has announced he will not be returning.
After these vacancies are filled, the Republicans will have a slim 217-215 majority in the House, which is the smallest controlling margin in history. If all Democrats are present and united against a bill, Mr. Johnson cannot afford any Republicans voting against it until the vacancies are filled. Even then, only three Republicans can vote against a bill without it failing to pass.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared calm and unaffected by the situation, reassuring reporters on Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a small majority, as it is something they are used to.
He mentioned that they do not have any extra resources to allocate. However, all the members are aware of this and they discussed the importance of working together as a team towards a common goal.
He didn’t talk about how he achieved success in leading a small majority in the past year by working with Democrats to pass important bills that his own party didn’t support. However, this strategy may not work in the future when President-elect Donald J. Trump is in office.
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