Conservative leaders are fearful that House Republicans could lose their razor-thin majority in 2024 given the chamber’s elderly members.
The fears spread on Wednesday after U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican and former House Speaker, announced his plans to resign from Congress at the end of the year. The announcement culminated a tumultuous year that saw McCarthy struggle to gain the support of his Republican colleagues in January and then promptly lose the speakership nine months later.
A handful of Republicans joined all House Democrats to oust McCarthy from the speakership in early October after claiming that he failed to deliver on a number of conservative policies while in power.
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McCarthy’s announcement comes only days after the House voted to expel Republican George Santos last Friday, and with Republican U.S. Representative Bill Johnson’s upcoming retirement, the party’s majority is growing weaker. The narrow majority has already posed a problem for House Republicans who have been plagued with infighting for months, and now Republicans are fretting over losing more members, particularly given the advanced age of some lawmakers in Congress.
Conservative commentator Laura Loomer saw McCarthy’s exit as beneficial for former president Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign, but she accused McCarthy of leaving on purpose to “further diminish” the Republican majority and pointed out the House’s “old” members.
“With Santos out, and McCarthy and Bill Johnson retiring, the House GOP are at serious risk of losing their majority,” Loomer posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. “That’s what they want. When you think about how many of them are old and could pass away at any moment, House GOP could very well lose their majority sooner than later. They did this on purpose to hurt Trump.”
While McCarthy leaving Congress is good for MAGA in the sense that he will no longer be there to sabotage, he is leaving at the end of the year on purpose to further diminish the @HouseGOP majority because he wants Republicans to lose the House once Trump is back in office.… https://t.co/Fm3dUUfmrp
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 6, 2023
Newsweek reached out to Loomer by phone for comment.
U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, also voiced her concerns about the lives of House Republicans given the party’s narrow majority.
“Well.. Now in 2024, we will have a 1 seat majority in the House of Representatives,” Greene posted on X. “I can assure you Republican voters didn’t give us the majority to crash the ship. Hopefully no one dies.”
Well..
Now in 2024, we will have a 1 seat majority in the House of Representatives.
Congratulations Freedom Caucus for one and 105 Rep who expel our own for the other.
I can assure you Republican voters didn’t give us the majority to crash the ship.
Hopefully no one dies.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 6, 2023
Newsweek reached out to Greene by email for comment.
In 2024, each one of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for election, given the 2-year terms. In 2022, Republicans gained a 222-213 majority over the Democrats, although the outcome of the midterm elections was not the “red wave” that many Republicans predicted.
The GOP lawmakers hope to flip the Senate in 2024 while maintaining control of the House, giving them the majority in both congressional chambers.
There are 33 of the U.S. Senate’s 100 seats up for election in 2024, 10 of which are held by Republicans, three by independents who caucus with Democrats and 20 seats are held by Democrats. There also is a special election to fill Republican Ben Sasse’s seat. U.S. senators serve 6-year terms.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.