Prom
Backed by
Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as the Republican speaker with the smallest House majority in history. Despite maintaining control of the House, Johnson will now lead an even smaller majority during President-elect Donald J. Trump’s term, where his assistance will be crucial in advancing key agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Covering news from the legislative
The margin of Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority has decreased even further.
The last House race was decided on Tuesday night when Representative John Duarte, a new Republican, admitted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray in California, solidifying a 220-215 majority for the Republicans. This majority is even narrower than their current one of 220-213.
In January, the margins will decrease more when Representatives Elise Stefanik from New York and Mike Waltz from Florida leave their positions to work for the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida has announced that he will not be coming back.
The Republicans will soon have a slim majority of 217-215 in the House of Representatives, which is one of the smallest margins in history. If all Democrats oppose a bill, Mr. Johnson cannot afford any Republicans to vote against it until vacancies are filled. 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 and assured reporters on Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a slim majority, as it is something they are used to.
He mentioned that they do not have any extra resources to give. However, all members are aware of this. They discussed this today, as they always do, emphasizing the importance of working together as a team towards a common goal.
He didn’t say that a big part of how he was able to manage a small majority in the past year was by working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party didn’t want to support. This strategy might not be possible for him in the next Congress when President-elect Donald J. Trump is in office.
We are experiencing difficulties in accessing the article’s content.
Please make sure to activate JavaScript in the settings of your web
We appreciate your understanding as we check access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please log out and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times.
We appreciate your patience as we confirm your access.
Have you already signed up as a subscriber? Please log in
Interested in receiving all of The Times? Subscribe now.
Prom
Index of the website
Navigation information for the website