It will take months for Republicans to fill the House seats that will be left open by Trump choosing some GOP House members for his administration, which will make Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority even smaller.
GOP leadership will likely already have a tough time navigating a slim majority, both during major policy fights and the speaker election. And unlike the Senate, House members canât get quickly reappointed replacements; leaders will have to wait to have those spots filled via special elections, which typically take months.
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âHe canât pick many more. Our majority is way too thin,â said a House Republican, granted anonymity to speak frankly.
Trump has already picked Reps. Stefanik and Waltz for spots in his new administration. House Republicans will be waiting for months for those seats to be filled due to the slow pace of special elections. The Republican House majority could be even smaller than it was in the last Congress, which will make getting anything done virtually impossible. In an ideal world, Trump would have chosen no House Republicans to serve in his administration.
It is more than two months before Trump takes office, and there are already potential landmines forming that could make everything far from smooth sailing for Republicans.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association