The GOP’s slim House majority is getting even tighter with Kevin McCarthy’s retirement

By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin for error in getting Republican priorities through the House is getting slimmer. The expulsion of Rep. George Santos of New York and the end-of-year retirement of Rep. Kevin McCarthy is shrinking the GOP’s vote cushion. That’s complicating future votes and magnifying the ability of individual lawmakers to force concessions. The margin for getting bills passed on a party-line vote could drop to two if Democrats flip the Santos seat in a Feb. 13 special election. Veteran Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma says: “It just makes everything harder. It’s just that simple.”