WASHINGTON — Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last January with one of the smallest majorities in history.

What You Need To Know

  • Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last January with one of the smallest majorities in history

  • That majority has gotten even smaller since because of a rare expulsion, resignations and medical absences

  • When this current session of Congress began, Republicans outnumbered Democrats 222-213

  • With 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats now available to vote, House Republicans can only afford to lose one member and still prevail in a party-line vote

Since then, that majority has gotten even smaller because of a rare expulsion, resignations and medical absences.

The latest absence came two weeks ago, when Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., was hospitalized after a car crash.

Republicans already were having trouble passing legislation because of their thin majority. The vacancies have added to the challenges.

“We'll still, as the Republican majority shrinks, see cases where the Republicans are not able to get things done because of their inability to lose more than one or two of their own members when moving legislation forward,” said Stephen Voss, University of Kentucky political scientist and associate professor.

When this current session of Congress began, Republicans outnumbered Democrats 222-213. The GOP could lose no more than four Republicans in any party-line vote.

Since then, three Republicans have left because of an expulsion and resignations, and two have been absent for health reasons, including Rogers.

That leaves 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats, meaning House Republicans can only afford to lose one member and still prevail in a party line vote.  

Appearing on CBS’ "Face the Nation" this month, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., downplayed his shrinking majority.

“I'm undaunted by this,” he said. “We deal with the numbers that we have. It will be one of the smallest majorities in the history of the Congress, clearly … but we do have, I think, a lot of unity on the big important issues that we're really focused on.”

The Republicans’ thin margin for error, Voss said, has affected their ability to govern, and it will not get easier as that margin shrinks.

“In the past year, the main problem for Republican leadership has been … their extreme, their most conservative members, because those were the ones most likely to be able to nix a deal by refusing to join the mainstream of the party,” Voss said. “Once the majority gets this small, though, they have to worry not only about their extreme, they have to worry about their most moderate members who may not be willing to go along.”

House Republicans would have more breathing room if members could vote remotely, a practice then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed during the pandemic. But when Republicans took control last year, they stopped the practice.

Rogers is still recovering and will return to Capitol Hill, according to his office, but it’s not clear when.

Related Stories