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Mike Johnson is facing a challenge with the smallest House majority in history. Despite remaining the Republican speaker in control of the House, he will now be 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
Writing from the government building
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased even further.
The last House race was decided on Tuesday night when Representative John Duarte, a first-term Republican from California, admitted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray. This solidifies a 220-215 Republican majority, which is even narrower than their current 220-213 majority.
The margins will decrease even more in January as Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida step down to work in the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida has announced that he will not be coming back.
The Republicans will soon have a slim majority of 217-215 in the House, which is the smallest margin in history. If all Democrats are present and united against a measure, Mr. Johnson will need all Republicans to support it until vacancies are filled. Even after that, only three Republicans can oppose a bill without it failing to pass.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared calm and unaffected by 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 have no extra resources available, but all members of the team are aware of this. They discussed this today, as they always do, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and everyone working together towards the same goal.
He didn’t say that a lot of his success in leading a small majority in the past year came from working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party didn’t support. This strategy may not be possible in the future when President-elect Donald J. Trump is in office.
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