House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was caught off guard by the news that Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) was retiring from Congress early.
“I was surprised by Ken’s announcement. I’m looking forward to talking to him about that,” Johnson said.
Buck announced Tuesday that he will be leaving Congress at the end of next week citing dysfunction in Washington.
With his departure, House Republicans’ narrow majority shrinks even further to 218– 213, with three vacancies. This makes it harder for Johnson to pass legislation on a party-line vote as he could only manage to lose two Republicans.
Johnson said he is “confident ” he can manage the Republican conference in this new reality,
“We have big things ahead of us but I think everybody understands the stakes and the necessity of working together. Sometimes we have to give up our preferences but we’re never gonna compromise core principles,” Johnson continued. “But we’ll get the job done.”
