Trump begins approving replacements to restore Republican majority in the House

President-elect Trump this week began supporting his Republican colleagues to replace members of Congress who left their seats to join his cabinet.

The support comes amid fears that the party’s slim majority in the House – the size of which remains unclear – could be at risk due to Trump’s choices in the lower house.

Trump threw his support behind two Floridians, the former Republican state senator. Randy good and the current CFO of the Sunshine State, Jimmy Patronis Jr., both of whom are considering running for Congress, according to the president-elect.

Fine would run in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, a seat currently held by Trump’s pick to be his next national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz. Patronis would run in Florida’s deep-red 1st District, previously held by former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump nominated him for attorney general, but allegations of sexual assault and other irregularities prompted Gaetz to withdraw his name from consideration. He has denied any wrongdoing.

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However, Trump has not endorsed anyone to replace the representative. Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., the GOP House conference chairwoman, whose solidly red seat in upstate New York will also be up for grabs if she is confirmed by the Senate as the Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations.

The Republicans in the Chamber of Deputies are on track to obtain a majority between one and three votes once the few pending races are announced. There are three races yet to be announced, two in California and one in Iowa.

THE balance of power The House currently has 219 seats for Republicans and 213 for Democrats. Republicans must hold 218 to maintain their majority.

Even though Waltz, Stefanik and Gaetz’s seats all sit in Republican strongholds, lawmakers have nonetheless raised concerns, particularly because the ensuing special elections could likely take place within the first weeks or months of Trump’s term. Trump and potentially thwart Trump’s ambitions for his first 100 days in office. .

“I know he’s already brought some really talented people out of the House — hopefully that won’t be the case for a little while until a special election happens, but it shows the talent that we we have and the capacity that we have,” said Rep. Steve Scalise. R-La., said last week at a press conference. Scalise is the House majority leader.

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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also said he did not believe Trump would recruit additional House members for his administration, adding that he and Trump had broached the subject in discussions.

“President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here, and it’s just a numbers game. You know, we think we’re going to have a larger majority than last time. It’s too early to handicap him, but we’re optimistic about the situation,” Johnson said. “But every vote will count, because if someone gets sick or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane, that affects the floor votes. So, I think he and the administration are well aware of that. I don’t expect more members to leave, but I’ll give him the choice.”

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Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital that the president-elect “is 100 percent committed” to working with House leaders, including Speaker Johnson, “to maintain the Republican majority in the House and immediately get to work in January” to implement the policies voters elected him to pursue.

Fox News digital politics reporter Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.