House Republicans’ Vote Margin Is Looking Pret-ty Thin Right Now

Between a retirement, a sudden death and a GOP lawmaker in the hospital, Mike Johnson may now only have one more vote than Democrats.

WASHINGTON — In the span of a few hours, House Republican leaders just watched their already narrow vote margin slip to about as weak as it can get.

A day after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) resignation from Congress took effect, news broke early Tuesday that Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) had suddenly died at the age of 65. Then, more news broke that another Republican congressman, 80-year-old Jim Baird of Indiana, was in the hospital after a car crash.

The House, which has 435 members when every seat is filled, has already been operating with two empty seats. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) died last March, and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) resigned in November after becoming her state’s governor.

Now, with Greene gone, LaMalfa dead, and Baird in the hospital, the House will have a total of 430 members in attendance, at most. That breaks down to 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Assuming all 430 show up for every vote, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will need a majority of them, or at least 216, to vote his way.

Put another way, Johnson can only afford to lose one vote on anything. And that’s assuming all members are present and all other Republicans vote his way.