The House gained its newest Democratic member on Wednesday, bringing the party’s caucus back to 213 members and narrowing Republicans’ slim majority to just two votes amid a tense government spending showdown.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) was sworn into the lower chamber after winning a special election to fill the seat once held by former Rep. George Santos (R-NY). In winning the seat, Suozzi flipped the district back into Democratic control, slightly chipping away at the GOP’s power.
“Mr. Speaker, I never thought I’d be back here, but the Lord works in mysterious ways,” Suozzi, who previously served in Congress, said after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) administered the oath of office. “And God made a way when there was no way.”
The former congressman said he was delivering a message from his New York constituents to the chamber to “wake up! The people are sick and tired of the finger-pointing and the petty partisan bickering,” Suozzi said in a floor speech. “They want us to work together.”
Suozzi challenged his colleagues to reset the tone in Congress after much infighting and partisan deadlock.
“I might be the only one being sworn in today; what if we all see this as a fresh start? What if we all took this chance to break some of our bad habits?” Suozzi said. “What if today we remembered why we ran for office in the first place? Let’s get back into the solutions business.”
Suozzi’s presence in the House brings the total number of lawmakers back to 432, comprising 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Three vacancies remain that are set to be filled in the coming weeks.
Suozzi’s addition comes just two days before a partial government shutdown is scheduled to take effect if a spending deal is not negotiated, making the math slightly more complicated for Johnson as he seeks to keep his party in line.
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With Suozzi back in the lower chamber, the magic number to pass legislation through a simple majority will be 217, giving Republicans a two-vote majority, but only if all members are present. That means an absence on either side of the aisle could doom or revive any given piece of legislation, putting pressure on party leaders to ensure all lawmakers in their party are present to either support or shoot down a bill.
There are three other vacant seats that will be filled in the coming weeks that were once held by former Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Bill Johnson, both Republicans, and Brian Higgins, a Democrat. Those seats are not considered to be competitive and will provide Republicans a bit more breathing room once filled.
