Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, will resign from Congress on Jan. 20, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
The Florida government announced its timeline to replace Waltz on Monday, scheduling the general election for April 1. That’s the same day the state will hold its election to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned earlier this month to pursue his unsuccessful nomination as Trump’s next attorney general.
With the special elections scheduled, it leaves House Republicans with at least two vacant seats for the first three months of the next Congress, which could complicate the party’s hopes of acting on Trump’s ambitious plans for his first 100 days in office, which includes sweeping changes to the country’s immigration and economic policies.
Waltz’s resignation date, the same day as Trump’s inauguration, does mean, however, he will still be in office during the speakership elections on Jan. 3 as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) vies for his first full term in the top House leadership position.
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House Republicans will also need to fill the seat of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who has not yet announced when she will step down from office as Trump’s nominee to become the next ambassador to the United Nations. Under state law, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) must schedule a special election between 70 and 90 days of being notified of the vacancy.
That means at least two months of an empty seat, which would put Republicans at three vacancies for most of the first 100 days.