One vote to lose: Life inside a chaotic House GOP majority

As Speaker Mike Johnson and his team have navigated the House’s slimmest margin since before World War II, they’ve seen it all.

Once, Republicans were headed for a second, embarrassing failed attempt to impeach then-President Joe Biden’s Homeland Security chief because of internal disputes — unless they could round up one more GOP vote. They phoned up a Republican who was resting at home with a heart condition, whose doctor had warned against flying to Washington. The member flew anyway.

Another time, a Republican member was in Washington when he learned of his mother’s death. GOP leaders had to ask him to stick around for a few more hours or they’d fail a vote. He stayed.

And just last month, dozens of House Republicans attended a White House coal industry event but couldn’t get back to the US Capitol for a vote because protests — including throngs of Buddhist monks — had closed the streets. The GOP leadership team frantically phoned members telling them to ditch their rides and hoof it to the Metro.

House Republicans are living in a constant struggle to maintain control of their chamber as evidenced by such instances, which were described by multiple members and aides in GOP leadership.

With the slimmest margins since the 1930s, Johnson can afford to lose only a single vote on the House floor. It’s an extraordinarily difficult task in this fractious GOP conference, with a handful of hardliners willing to defy the party — and even President Donald Trump — on key issues. GOP leaders must also navigate demands from battleground members anxious to survive the midterms, plus dozens more Republicans with their own priorities running statewide campaigns.

And while the House is unlikely to pass major legislation in the coming months, Trump and GOP leaders are still eager to use Congress to show their prioritie