Trump’s Cabinet picks could be complicated by GOP math in the House
CNN
Plenty of House Republicans are privately jockeying for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet. There’s one big problem: Speaker Mike Johnson can’t afford to lose their votes in the next Congress.
Plenty of House Republicans are privately jockeying for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet. There’s one big problem: Speaker Mike Johnson can’t afford to lose their votes in the next Congress. Trump on Monday named long-time loyalist New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador and asked Florida Rep. Mike Waltz to serve as his national security adviser. At least a dozen more House members — including Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers and Transportation Chairman Sam Graves — have been discussed as other picks. But even as the House GOP conference remains one of his strongest bases of support in Washington, the Trump team won’t be able to poach many more of those lawmakers without risking Johnson losing control of what could be another slim majority in 2025. CNN has not yet projected control of the chamber. “I think we have some really qualified people. But I wouldn’t want to drop us down to a one, two (seat) majority tactically,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who is leaving Congress in January to become North Dakota governor. “We have a lot of talent. There’s a lot of people who would be really, really good at this stuff,” he said. But, he added, referring to the speaker: “You have to give Mike some room to operate.”
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