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Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as the Republican speaker of the House – he will have the smallest majority in history. Despite holding onto control of the House, Johnson will need to navigate an even smaller majority while President-elect Donald J. Trump will rely on his support to push through major agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting live from the seat of
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased.
The last House race was officially decided on Tuesday evening when Representative John Duarte of California, a newly elected Republican, accepted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray. This solidified a 220-215 majority for the Republicans, which is even narrower than their current margin of 220-213.
The margins will decrease even more in January 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 oppose a bill, Mr. Johnson will need every Republican to support it until the vacant seats are filled. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can vote against a bill without it failing.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared unconcerned about the situation, reassuring reporters on Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a small majority and it is something they are used to.
He mentioned that there are no extra resources available, but everyone in the group is aware of this. They discussed this today, as they always do, emphasizing the importance of working together and moving forward as a united team.
He didn’t talk about how he achieved success in managing a small majority by working with Democrats to pass important bills that his own party didn’t support. This strategy may not work in the future with President-elect Donald J. Trump in power.
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