Could House control flip to the Democrats? Early resignations leave GOP majority on edge
Washington — In mid-March, as the Republican majority in the House dwindled yet again, House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted that the series of resignations from frustrated GOP lawmakers had come to an end.
“I think, I hope and believe that’s the end of the exits for now,” the Louisiana Republican said after being caught off guard by Colorado Rep. Ken Buck’s announcement that he would leave Congress on March 22.
Then, a week after Johnson’s comments, Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a rising GOP star, announced he was also stepping down early.
Kevin McCarthy of California, who resigned at the end of the year after he was ousted from the speakership; and Bill Johnson of Ohio, now the president of Youngstown State University. Filling those vacancies would give the GOP majority a little more cushion. (There won’t be a special election to fill Gallagher’s seat, because he’s resigning after the deadline to trigger one.)
Nineteen other Republicans have said they’re retiring, are running for another office or have lost their primary. About two dozen Democrats have made similar announcements. So far, those lawmakers haven’t indicated they plan to leave their current roles before the start of a new Congress in January. Then again, neither did Buck or Gallagher when they initially announced they wouldn’t seek reelection.
“The number of retirements is not unusual. What is unusual, is the number of retirements that are coming in the middle of a Congress,” Green said. “It speaks in part to how deeply unhappy House Republicans are with being in Congress. They would rather just bail and not even fulfill their two-year obligation to their constituents than put up with being in the chamber any longer.”
After Easter, the House will return to more dysfunction spurred by Republican infighting, which could convince others to leave early. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for Johnson’s removal from the speakership after he supported a massive spending bill to fund the government. With that threat hanging over him, Johnson will also have to navigate fractures within his party over sending more aid to Ukraine.
“If Speaker Johnson is doing his job, he is talking to those announced retirees regularly, checking in to make sure they will not leave early,” Green said. “The fact that the speaker was caught off guard by some of these early retirements doesn’t speak well to his ability to keep his finger on the pulse of the conference.”
A spokesperson for Johnson said the speaker and House GOP leadership “are in close communication with members, retiring and not, emphasizing the critical importance of protecting and defending the House Republican majority this year and growing the majority in the 2024 elections.”
Caitlin Yilek
Source: cbsnews.com