The 117th Congress is set to end this fall without ever having had a full House.

It’s an unusual situation that, in an era of an evenly divided electorate, has made governing in the Senate and House more of a challenge than the days of large majorities. House Democrats after the 2020 election have had only four or at most five votes to spare at any given time in the 435-member chamber. At times, House Democrats’ operating margin has shrunk to three or even two seats, assuming no Republicans backed their legislation.