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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 now faces the task of leading an even smaller majority during a time when President-elect Donald J. Trump will rely on his support to push through important agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting from the legislative center.
Mike Johnson, the speaker, now has an even smaller majority than before.
The last House race was decided on Tuesday night when Representative John Duarte from California, a newly elected Republican, accepted defeat to Adam Gray, a Democrat. This win solidified a slim majority of 220-215 for the Republicans, which is even tighter than their current majority 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 for the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida has announced he will not be coming back.
After the special election, Republicans will have a slim majority of 217-215 in the House, which is one of the smallest margins of control in history. If all Democrats are present and united against a proposal, Mr. Johnson will not be able to have any Republicans vote against it until the vacancies are filled. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can dissent without causing a bill to fail.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared calm and unconcerned about the situation, stating to reporters at Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a small majority and it is something they are used to.
He mentioned that they do not have any extra resources to spare, but all of their members are aware of this. They discussed this today and regularly emphasize that teamwork is essential and everyone needs to work together towards the same goal.
He did not discuss how he achieved success in leading a slim majority in the past year by working with Democrats to pass important bills that his own party did not back. This strategy may not be possible in the future with President-elect Donald J. Trump as the new president.
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