Speaker Mike Johnson has a little more room in his historically narrow majority.
The speaker swore Republicans Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis into Congress a day after their party held onto two seats in Florida special elections to replace national security adviser Mike Waltz and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, respectively.
At the start of the 119th Congress, Johnson was already facing the narrowest House majority in nearly 100 years. The tight margin has created a major challenge for congressional Republicans as they seek to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda.
That brings the partisan breakdown to 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats, one of the thinnest House majorities in history.
Republicans won 220 House seats in the November elections, while Democrats won 215, the most narrowly divided House majority since the outset of the Great Depression, almost a century ago.
At the start of the new session of Congress, however, the partisan breakdown stood at 219 to 215, because former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida opted not to return to Congress.
Passing a bill in the House requires a majority of all members present and voting. The magic number is 218 if every member shows up to vote and all 435 seats are filled, but that can change if there are vacancies or absences. A tie vote in the House is a fail.
Two seats in the chamber are vacant, however, meaning 217 votes are currently needed to approve legislation. A special election is scheduled for only one of the vacant seats.
If Republicans aren’t in lockstep, then House GOP leaders will need Democrats to pass legislation.
