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Mike Johnson is facing a challenge with the smallest House majority in history. Despite holding onto control of the House, the Republican speaker will have to manage an even smaller majority as President-elect Donald J. Trump looks to him for assistance in passing significant agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Covering news from the legislative
The margin of Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority has decreased.
The final House race on Tuesday night ended with Representative John Duarte, a freshman Republican from California, conceding to Adam Gray, a Democrat. This solidified a narrow 220-215 majority for the Republicans, which is even tighter than their current 220-213 majority.
The margins will decrease even more in January as Representatives Elise Stefanik from New York and Mike Waltz from Florida step down to join the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida has indicated he will not be coming back.
After the special election, Republicans will have a slim majority of 217-215 in the House, which is the smallest margin in history. If all Democrats oppose a measure, Mr. Johnson cannot afford any of his party members to defect until the vacancies are filled. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can vote against a bill without causing it to fail.
Mr. Johnson appeared unconcerned about the situation on Wednesday, stating to journalists on Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a small majority, which is their usual practice.
He mentioned that they don’t have any extra resources to give, but all members of the group are aware of that. They discussed the importance of working together as a team and putting in effort towards the same goal.
He didn’t talk about how he achieved success in dealing with a small majority by working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party didn’t support. This strategy might not work in the next Congress because of President-elect Donald J. Trump being in office.
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