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Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as he leads the Republican party in the House of Representatives. Despite maintaining control, he will have the smallest majority in history. This comes at a crucial time when President-elect Donald J. Trump will rely on his support to push through important legislation.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting live from the seat of
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased.
The final House race was decided on Tuesday night when Representative John Duarte of California, a new Republican member, accepted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray. This solidified a slim majority of 220-215 for the Republicans, which is even narrower than their current margin of 220-213.
In January, the margins will decrease even more as Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida leave their positions to join the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida has announced that he will not be coming back.
After this, the Republicans will have a slim majority of 217-215 in the House, which is one of the smallest margins in history. If all Democrats are present and united against a proposal, Mr. Johnson cannot afford to have any Republicans defect until those empty seats are filled in the coming months. Even then, only three Republicans can vote against a bill without it failing.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared calm and unbothered about the situation, stating to reporters at Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a small majority and that it is something they are used to.
He stated that they have no extra resources to share, but all members are aware of this. They discussed this today and regularly emphasize the importance of working together towards a common goal.
He didn’t talk about how he was able to achieve success in overcoming a small majority by working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party didn’t back. This strategy may not work in the future with President-elect Donald J. Trump in office.
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