The House swore in its newest Democratic member on Monday, bringing the party’s caucus back to 213 members and temporarily bringing Republicans’ already slim majority down to just one vote.
Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-NY) was sworn into office after lawmakers completed their first votes of the week just six days after Kennedy won a special election to fill the seat once held by former Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY).
“I stand before you humbled by the opportunity God has given us to be together in this moment. This awesome and magnificent responsibility granted to me by the people of western New York,” he said. “I look forward to working with you to change our country for the better. I’m hopeful that we in this chamber can demonstrate leadership on a world stage that our fellow Americans can be proud of.”
Kennedy’s presence brings the full House back to 430 members, and House Republicans’ majority to 217-213, meaning Johnson can only lose one vote on any given measure for it to pass along party lines.
Kennedy is also set to run in the primary election to be elected to the seat for a full term next Congress, which is set to be held on June 25. He faces a challenge from former Democratic congressional candidate Nate McMurray, who has run for the House twice in the past 10 years.
The winner of that election is favored to win the general election in November.
The latest alteration to the makeup of the House gives Johnson a razor-thin majority as the chamber seeks to fill a slew of other vacancies announced over the last few months. Those include the seats vacated by Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and Ken Buck (R-CO), who each resigned from office before their term expired.
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There’s also the seat vacated by Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), who died late last month.
Those races are all considered not to be competitive and will provide Republicans a bit more breathing room once they are all filled. Until then, Johnson must tread lightly as he faces pushback from some hardline members who have repeatedly threatened his gavel.