Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX) was sworn in Monday to represent the voters of Texas’s 18th Congressional District, bringing Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) already razor-thin margin even narrower.
Menefee won a runoff against Amanda Edwards on Saturday to succeed the late Rep. Sylvester Turner for the Houston-based seat. Turner died in March 2025, and the seat has been Vacant for nearly a year.
“After 334 days of having no voice in Congress, TX-18 will finally have representation,” Menefee said ahead of being sworn in.
With Menefee seated, the total in the House now stands at 218-214, with three vacancies. Johnson can now only lose one Republican on any party-line vote.
Menefee will fill the remainder of Turner’s term through next January. He will face Edwards again next month in a primary for the full term. That race will also pit Menefee against longtime Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who was drawn out of his district by a redistricting effort that passed the state legislature last year.
CHRISTIAN MENEFEE WINS TEXAS SPECIAL ELECTION FOR HOUSE SEAT
Menefee’s seating comes as the House is set to vote on a deal to end the partial government shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has urged his caucus to oppose the deal, saying it does nothing to reform the practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Dramatic change is needed within the Department of Homeland Security before any appropriations bill related to [ICE] and [Customs and Border Protection] proceeds,” Jeffries said at his press conference last week.