The unexpected death of California Republican Doug LaMalfa is a sad reminder of the fragility of the GOP’s House majority on Capitol Hill. In 2024, House Republicans won a 220-215 majority. But that’s with all of the seats filled, and that margin has fluctuated over the past 12 months with four deaths and four departures. In fact, Republicans began the 119th Congress at 219 seats, with Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz resigning before lawmakers were sworn in. LaMalfa’s death coupled with the resignation of Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene leaves the House at 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Yet the GOP majority is functionally narrower with Indiana Republican Jim Baird recovering after a car crash and presumably unable to make it to Washington for votes. Meanwhile, Democrats have two vacancies of their own. While it’s still unlikely that control of the House will switch party hands before the November elections, it can’t be ruled out completely. The last time control of a chamber flipped in the middle of a congressional year was more than 20 years ago. In May 2001, Vermont Sen. James M. Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent and caucus with Democrats, making
