'One big problem': Insiders say slim House majority could become bad Trump headache
Republicans' slim majority in the House of Representatives could create a big headache for Donald Trump, insiders said in a new report.
"Plenty of House Republicans are privately jockeying for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet," CNN reports. "There’s one big problem: Speaker Mike Johnson can’t afford to lose their votes in the next Congress."
Trump's decision this week to name Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as UN ambassador and request Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) serve as national security adviser shaved away at Johnson's slim hold on the chamber, CNN reported Tuesday.
The president-elect reportedly has his eye on at least a dozen more and one House Republican lawmaker quipped at least 10 of his colleagues think they're about to be summoned.
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But Trump can't poach those willing servants without risking Johnson's control, the Republican said.
“If we’ve got a four-seat minority, you can let one or two go," said the Republican. "But you’re not going to let three or four go.”
While Johnson remains confident Republicans will hold the House, by how many remains unclear, CNN reported.
Trump has plenty of loyalists in the House — and many of them gearing up to abandon congressional ship, according to the report.
"In Florida alone, roughly a quarter of the state’s congressional delegation has been floated," the report stated.
"Reps. Matt Gaetz, Brian Mast, Byron Donalds, Carlos Gimenez and Greg Steube have all been mentioned as potential picks. And privately, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Cory Mills have also expressed interest, according to a Florida GOP source."
Trump faces a similar problem in the Senate on the heels of reporting he's likely to pick Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, CNN noted.
"But there, too, his team is limited by the math," the report concludes. "A half-dozen GOP senators have been discussed as possible nominees."