Prom
Backed by
Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as the Republican speaker of the House, with the smallest majority in history. Despite maintaining control, he will now have to lead with an even smaller margin, just as President-elect Donald J. Trump will rely on his support to push through important agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting live from the government building
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased, making his majority even more fragile.
The final House race was determined on Tuesday night when Representative John Duarte of California, a new Republican, admitted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray. This solidified a 220-215 majority for the Republicans, which is even narrower than their current 220-213 majority.
In January, the margins will decrease even more as Representatives Elise Stefanik from New York and Mike Waltz from Florida leave their positions to work in the Trump administration. Additionally, former Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida has announced that he will not be coming back.
The Republicans will have a slim majority of 217-215 in the House, which is one of the smallest margins in history. If all Democrats oppose a measure, Mr. Johnson cannot afford any Republicans to defect until the vacancies are filled. Even after that, only three Republicans can go against the party without the bill 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 small majority and it is something they are accustomed to.
He mentioned that there is no extra resources available. All members are aware of this and it is constantly discussed that everyone needs to work together as a team and be aligned in their efforts.
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 want to support. This strategy may not be possible in the next Congress with Donald J. Trump as President.
We are experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
To use this website properly, make sure to activate JavaScript in
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please close it and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Are you currently a member? Please sign in.
Interested in receiving all of The Times content? Subscribe now.
Prom
Index of the Website
Navigation to Site Information