Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) expressed concerns on Monday about the potential negative impact of the dwindling House GOP majority, caused by several vacancies. She voiced worries that this situation could potentially harm the caucus’ overall prospects and even result in Democrats gaining control of the chamber.
Former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo) left office on Friday, giving Republicans a 218-213 majority in the House. With Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) leaving his seat next month, the GOP will hold a four-member majority. The close margins have alarmed some House Republicans, including Tenney.
“He’s gotta stay,” Tenney said of Gallagher in a Fox News interview with Larry Kudlow on Monday.
“We’re perilous. We could end up having a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in the interim here while we’re waiting for special elections,” she added, referring to the House Minority Leader.
“Personally, if you’re going to make a commitment to the people that elect you, that you’re going to serve for two years unless you have a really good reason not to serve, then why would you do that?” Tenney continued, “And aren’t we team Republican?”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has expressed her strong disapproval of Gallagher’s resignation timing this week, taking advantage of Wisconsin law, which guarantees that the position will be vacant until next January. Greene has called for Gallagher’s expulsion from the House as a form of punishment before his retirement, but this proposal has not garnered support.
Three out of the four currently unoccupied seats were previously held by Republicans. The seat formerly occupied by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, will be filled through a special election scheduled for late May. The seats previously held by former Representatives Bill Johnson from Ohio and Buck will be filled in June.
The seat of former Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) is currently vacant and will be filled through a special election on April 30. Given the likelihood of the seat going to a Democrat, the GOP could potentially have a narrow two-seat margin during the month of May.
The slim majority is in danger of being lost to the Democrats because of regular absences or if just one lawmaker crosses party lines. The current narrow margin has already made the GOP vulnerable, especially as there is a growing momentum to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), a campaign also spearheaded by Greene.
