Julia Letlow on Wednesday was sworn in to represent the House seat that her late husband was unable to assume, and in doing so, narrowed Democrats’ House majority to a small handful of seats.
Letlow, 40, launched a bid for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District seat after her husband, Republican Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, died from COVID-19 on Dec. 29, 2020, at the age of 41, before being sworn in.
“Luke and I were a team, with a goal to better our state and our country. I want to thank him for paving the way for me,” Letlow said on the House floor after being sworn in. “I am here today to carry that torch forward, to be a voice for our farmers, to champion education, to help bring broadband to our rural communities.”
With Letlow becoming the first Republican woman to represent the state of Louisiana in Congress, Democrats’ already historically narrow House majority becomes even smaller. For the time being, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a majority of just three members, allowing little room for error.
COVID MADE THEM WIDOWS. NOW, TWO WOMEN WEEK HUSBANDS’ HOUSE SEATS
The 2020 election already left House Democrats with the slimmest majority since the 1930s, and vacancies created by deaths and members moving to the Biden administration temporarily complicate that majority even more.
Former Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge became secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland became interior secretary, and former Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond left the House in January to join the Biden administration as a senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement. Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings died earlier this month.
Those seats are expected to be filled by Democrats eventually, but the delay between the time that the members vacated their seats and the swearing-in for their replacement means that Pelosi could theoretically be squeezed by the liberal “Squad” in her caucus if it decided to band together. One point of contention among Democrats could be Biden’s infrastructure plan. Pelosi said that she is open to two bills, but the House Progressive Caucus is lobbying for one.
A runoff election for Richmond’s Louisiana seat is on April 24, the election to fill Fudge’s seat is on Nov. 2, and the election to fill Haaland’s seat is on June 1. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet set a date to fill Hastings’s seat.
Republicans have another vacancy, making for a total of Texas Rep. Ron Wright died in February. The special election for his replacement, which will go to a runoff, is on May 1. Like Letlow, Wright’s widow Susan Wright is seeking his seat.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Letlow, poetically, wrote her Ph.D. dissertation on moving on and finding purpose in the face of grief after her 17-year-old brother died in a car crash.
“I’ve been able to draw back on that those experiences and that research as I face yet another loss in my life,” Letlow told the Washington Examiner in an interview last month. “That’s given me perspective and comfort, and knowing that, you know, you can grieve and continue to move forward at the same time.”
Letlow’s guests at a ceremony marking her swearing-in included her 1-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, along with Luke Letlow’s father, who held the Bible used for her swearing-in.
