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The latest challenge for Mike Johnson is having the smallest House majority in history. Despite maintaining control of the House as the Republican speaker, he will now lead an even smaller majority during a crucial time when President-elect Donald J. Trump will rely on his support to push through key initiatives.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Covering news from the government
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 in office, accepted defeat to Adam Gray, a Democrat. This victory solidified a slim 220-215 majority for the Republicans in the House, which is even narrower than their current 220-213 majority.
The margins will decrease even more in January when Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida leave their positions to work in the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida has announced 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 closest margins in history. If all Democrats are present and voting against a bill, Mr. Johnson cannot afford to have any Republicans defect until the vacancies are filled. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can go against the party without causing a bill to fail.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared unconcerned about the situation and assured reporters on Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a small majority and that it is something they are accustomed to.
He stated that they have no extra resources to contribute, but all members are aware of this. They discussed this in their meeting today and emphasize the importance of working together as a team towards a common goal.
He didn’t talk about the fact that a lot of his success in managing a small majority in the past year came from working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party didn’t support. This may not be possible in the future with President-elect Donald J. Trump leading the White House.
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