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Mike Johnson is facing a new challenge as the Republican speaker with the smallest House majority in history. Although he maintained control of the House, he will have to lead with an even smaller majority while President-elect Donald J. Trump seeks his assistance to push through key agenda items.
Written by Catie Edmondson
Providing coverage from the seat
The margin of victory for Speaker Mike Johnson has decreased even further.
The last House race was decided on Tuesday evening when Representative John Duarte, a first-term Republican from California, accepted defeat to Adam Gray, a Democrat. This solidified a narrow 220-215 majority for the Republicans, which is even tighter than their current 220-213 margin.
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 he will not be returning.
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 are present and united against a proposal, Mr. Johnson will not have any room for error until the vacancies are filled. Even after the vacancies are filled, only three Republicans can vote against a bill without it failing.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson seemed unperturbed by the idea and assured reporters on Capitol Hill that they were experienced in working with a small majority and it was something they were used to.
He mentioned that they don’t have any extra resources to give, but all of their members are aware of this. They discussed this today and regularly emphasize the importance of working together as a team and moving in the same direction.
He didn’t talk about how he achieved success in managing a small majority by working with Democrats to pass important laws that his own party didn’t support. This strategy may not work in the future when President-elect Donald J. Trump is in office.
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