Prom
Backed by
Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as the Republican speaker with the smallest majority in the history of the House. Despite maintaining control, he will have to lead with an even narrower margin, particularly as President-elect Donald J. Trump looks to him for support in pushing through important policy initiatives.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Providing coverage from the seat
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased, making his slim majority even slimmer.
The last House race was decided on Tuesday night when Representative John Duarte from California, a new member of the Republican party, accepted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray. This victory solidified a slight majority for the Republicans at 220-215, which is even narrower than their current margin of 220-213.
In January, the margins will decrease even more as Representatives Elise Stefanik from New York and Mike Waltz from Florida step down to work in the Trump administration. Former Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida has also announced he will not be coming back.
After these vacancies are filled, Republicans will have a 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 bill, Mr. Johnson cannot afford to have any Republicans defect until the vacancies are filled. Even after that, only three Republicans can go against the party without jeopardizing the passage of a bill.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared calm when faced with the idea of a small majority, stating to reporters at Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with such situations and it is something they are used to.
He stated that there is no extra resources available. However, all members are aware of this. This was discussed today and is a constant topic of conversation – emphasizing the importance of working together towards a common goal.
He did not talk about how he achieved success in managing a small majority by working with Democrats to pass important legislation that his own party did not support. This may not be possible in the future with President-elect Donald J. Trump in power.
We are currently facing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
To use this website properly, make sure to turn on JavaScript
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please close it and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times content.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Have you already signed up for a subscription? Please log in
Interested in getting access to all of The Times’ content? Subscribe
Prom
Index of Site
Navigation for Site Information