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Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as the Republican speaker with the smallest House majority in history. Despite maintaining control of the House, he will now have to lead with an even smaller majority while President-elect Donald J. Trump relies on his support to push through important agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Providing updates from the seat
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased.
The last House race was decided on Tuesday evening when Representative John Duarte, a new Republican member from California, accepted defeat to Democrat Adam Gray. This solidified a 220-215 majority for the Republicans, which is even narrower than their current margin of 220-213.
The margins will decrease more in January when 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.
After the special election, Republicans will have a slim majority of 217-215 in the House of Representatives, which is one of the smallest margins in history. If all Democrats stick together and oppose a bill, Mr. Johnson cannot afford any Republicans crossing party lines until the vacant seats are filled. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can dissent without jeopardizing the bill’s chances of passing.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson appeared unconcerned about the situation, stating to reporters on Capitol Hill that they are experienced in working with a small majority and it is something they are used to.
He stated that there is no excess to be shared among the members, but they are all aware of that. They discussed this today and regularly emphasize the importance of working together as a team towards a common goal.
He did not talk about how he achieved success in handling a small majority by working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party didn’t back. This strategy may not work in the future when Donald J. Trump is president.
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