A maverick Republican congresswoman says she won’t caucus with the party, narrowing the already slim GOP margin in the House of Representatives to as little as just one vote and potentially making it more difficult to enact President-elect Trump’s agenda.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Indiana) tweeted that she will focus on the budget-cutting effort of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and won’t accept any committee assignments from the Republican leadership.
“I do not need to be involved in circuses. I would rather spend more of my time helping …save our Republic, as was mandated by the American people,” Spartz said.
If the independent-minded suburban Indianapolis lawmaker means what she says, it could reduce the Republican edge in seats won in the 2024 election to just 219 compared to 215 for Democrats.
The ugly GOP math is even worse than it seems because scandal-tarred ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) already resigned his seat and has said he won’t rejoin the new Congress in January.
Two more lawmakers, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida), are expected to step down after Trump takes office on Jan. 20 because they are expected to be confirmed to Cabinet posts.
That means House Speaker Mike Johnson could find himself with just a 216-215 edge for at least several weeks until special elections can be held for what he hopes will be Republican replacements to take up those vacant seats.
His plight could be eased somewhat if any Democrats leave Congress. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) is said to be under consideration to lead Trump’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would reduce the Democratic caucus to 214.
The narrow majority will likely make it very difficult for Johnson to pass even the spending bills needed to keep the government running, which are considered to be the bare minimum for the House.
It’s far from clear that Johnson will be able to push through Trump’s sweeping plans for a massive and costly crackdown on undocumented immigrants and new tax cuts for corporations and the rich.
In the past two years, Johnson was forced to turn to Democrats to secure enough votes to pass spending bills and even to allow him to keep the speaker’s gavel.
That’s because small groups of right-wing Republicans are bitterly opposed to spending bills in general and compromising with moderates on costly issues like aid and subsidies for farmers.
Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was willing to play ball with Johnson while President Biden was in the White House, but he’s unlikely to lend a helping hand now that Trump is in charge.
