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Republicans are clinging to a razor-thin 218-213 House majority.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson shouldn’t expect many reinforcements anytime soon.
This month’s shocking early House retirement of MAGA firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and the unexpected death of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California further shrunk the GOP’s margins in the chamber.
And that has House GOP leaders keeping a tight leash on the party’s rank and file members.
DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER FEARS SOAR AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS CLING TO FRAGILE MAJORITY
Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, holds the gavel after being re-elected House Speaker, on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 at the U.S. Capitol. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“They’d better be here,” Johnson recently said of his members. “I told everybody, and not in jest, I said, no adventure sports, no risk-taking, take your vitamins. Stay healthy and be here.”
And House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office confirmed it is advising members that “outside of life-and-death circumstances,” they expect Republican lawmakers to be on Capitol Hill.
REP. LAMALFA’S DEATH FURTHER SHRINKS REPUBLICAN HOUSE MAJORITY
There are currently four vacant House districts, which means four special elections to fill the seats. But it’s the Democrats rather than the Republicans who will likely benefit more from the ballot box results in the short run.
Here’s a look at the special elections that are on deck:
Jan. 31
Voters in Texas’ Democrat-dominated 18th Congressional District, which is anchored by downtown Houston and surrounding areas, head to the polls on the last day of January to choose a successor to fill the seat left vacant when Rep. Sylvester Turner died last March.
Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas died on March 5, 2025. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Democrats Christian Menefee, a former attorney for Houston’s Harris County, and former Houston City Council member…
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