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Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge: leading the House with the smallest majority in history. As the Republican speaker, he managed to keep control of the House, but now faces the task of working with President-elect Donald J. Trump to push through important agenda items with an even smaller majority.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting live from the government building
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased, making his majority even more narrow.
The final House race was decided on Tuesday night when Representative John Duarte of California, a new Republican, acknowledged defeat to Democrat Adam Gray. This solidified a 220-215 majority for Republicans, which is even narrower than their current 220-213 lead.
In January, the margins will decrease even more as Representatives Elise Stefanik from New York and Mike Waltz from Florida leave their positions to work in the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida has announced that he will not be coming back.
After the special election, 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 vote against a bill, Mr. Johnson cannot afford any Republicans to defect until the vacancies are filled. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can go against party lines before a bill fails to pass.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson seemed unconcerned about the idea and reassured reporters on Capitol Hill by saying, "We are experienced in working with a narrow majority. It’s what we’re used to."
He mentioned that they have no extra resources to give, but all their team members are aware of this. They discussed this today and always emphasize the importance of working together as a team towards a common goal.
He didn’t talk about how he achieved success in dealing with a small majority by working with Democrats to pass necessary laws that his own party didn’t back, a strategy that may not work with President-elect Donald J. Trump in power in the upcoming Congress.
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