Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged Tuesday he‘s trying to stop the poaching by Donald Trump of his very slender House majority even as he conceded—it isn’t his call.
“I don’t expect that we will have more members leaving, but I’ll leave that up to him,” Johnson said at a press conference outside the Capitol.
Johnson said he expects to have a larger majority than he currently has when the counting is finally done in a few outstanding House races. But the margins are very narrow, he noted.
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“I think he and the administration are well in-tune to that,” the speaker said.
Trump has already announced the appointments of two members of the House to his administration. House GOP Chair Elise Stefanik will serve as ambassador to the United Nations, and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) was asked to be his national security adviser. Both members represent safe Republican seats, but the temporary vacancies they’re expected to leave behind will make Johnson’s life harder.
The speaker said that he and Trump had spoken about the topic multiple times a day over the last few days. And they’ll have another opportunity to do so on Wednesday morning when Trump plans to meet with House Republicans in person before visiting the White House.
“President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here, and it’s just a numbers game,” Johnson said.
Those exact numbers have yet to be finalized. According to the AP, Republicans have so far secured 214 seats in the House. They need 218 for the majority. The GOP is expected to win at least that many seats, but a handful of competitive races, largely in California, have yet to be called.
“We believe we’re going to have a larger majority than we had last time,” Johnson said Tuesday. “It’s too early to handicap it. But we’re optimistic about that. But every single vote will count, because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane, then it affects the vote on the floor.”
Before Election Day, Republicans held a 220-212 majority. With a similar margin, Johnson will have to maintain unity between moderates and far-right members of his conference to get the votes he needs to pass any legislation.
Though Johnson suggested the American people delivered House Republicans a “mandate,” he wasn’t the only one who voiced concerns that the president-elect is eating into their slim margins.
“He’s making really good, smart picks,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said of Trump’s staffing choices. “I know he’s already pulled a few really talented people out of the House, hopefully no more for a little while until special elections can come.”
