Prom
Backed by
Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge with the smallest House majority in history. As the Republican speaker, he managed to maintain control of the House, but now faces the task of leading an even smaller majority. This comes at a crucial time when President-elect Donald J. Trump will rely on his support to push through important agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting live from the seat of
The margin of votes in favor of Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased, making his majority even more fragile.
The last House race was officially decided on Tuesday evening when Representative John Duarte, a new Republican member from California, accepted defeat to Adam Gray, a Democrat. This victory solidified the Republicans’ majority in the House, with a final count of 220-215, which is even narrower than their current margin of 220-213.
In January, the margins will decrease even more when Representatives Elise Stefanik from New York and Mike Waltz from Florida step down to work in the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida has announced that he will not be coming back.
The Republican party 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 measure, Mr. Johnson will need every Republican to support it until vacancies are filled in the spring. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can vote against a bill without it failing to pass.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared unconcerned about the situation, stating to journalists on Capitol Hill that they are experienced in dealing with a small majority and it is something they are used to.
He stated that there are no extra resources available, but everyone in the group is aware of this. The team discussed this today and regularly emphasizes the importance of working together towards a common goal.
He succeeded in handling a small majority over the past year by working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party did not support. However, this strategy may not be possible in the future when President-elect Donald J. Trump is in office.
We are currently experiencing 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 in Reader mode, please log out 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 as a member? Please log in
Interested in accessing all content from The Times? You can subscribe to
Prom
Index of Pages
Navigation for Site Information