Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) expressed concerns that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) could end up as Speaker before the election as more Republican lawmakers head for the exits before their terms are up in Congress.
Republicans currently hold a 218-213 majority in the House after former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) left office Friday.
Also on Friday, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) announced he will leave Congress next month further narrowing the GOP House majority to 217-213.
Gallagher’s decision to leave on April 19 comes after the Wisconsin cutoff date to schedule a special election to replace him so his seat will remain vacant until January 2025.
“He’s gotta stay,” Tenney said of Gallagher in an interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox News Monday. “We can get a special election. It’s a very safe Republican seat. We’ll add to our majority. We don’t have the other special [election] to fill Kevin McCarthy’s seat until April 30th. And we’re perilous. We could end up being– having a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries in the interim here while we’re waiting for special elections.”
There are currently four vacant seats in the House, including Gallagher’s, three of which are held by Republicans.
Republicans are expected to win special elections in late May and June to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and Buck.
But, Democrats are expected to win next month’s special election to replace Rep. Brian Higgins in New York. This means for the month of May, House Republicans could be left with just a two-seat margin.
With such a narrow majority, absences or just a single Republican lawmaker siding with the Democrats could flip the chamber.
