The House welcomed two new members to its ranks on Tuesday, putting the chamber at near-full capacity as lawmakers prepare for another spending fight and Democrats look to pass any final pieces of legislation before Republicans take control of Congress next year.
Reps. Tony Weid (R-OH) and Erica Lee Carter (D-TX) were sworn into office after lawmakers completed their first votes since the 2024 election, putting the House at 434 members for the first time since last year. The swearings-in are a small but important milestone for the GOP conference as it looks to advance key spending measures before the deadline in mid-December.
Carter is the daughter of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in late July. Carter will serve out the rest of her mother’s term before being replaced by Sylvester Turner, who won the general election to represent the district in the next Congress.
Weid will replace former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), who resigned from his seat in late April to take a position at software company Palantir. Weid also won the general election to hold the seat for the next two years.
With the swearings-in, it brings the House makeup to 434 members split between 221 Republicans and 213 Democrats. That cements Republicans’ four-seat majority, giving them a bit of wiggle room as the party moves forward with spending legislation. The final vacancy is the seat for Rep. Bill Pascrell, who died in August.
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It’s not yet clear how GOP leaders will move forward with government appropriations before federal funding is set to lapse in mid-December. Lawmakers could pass all 12 appropriations bills individually or packaged in an omnibus package to fulfill spending for the remainder of the fiscal year — an ambitious path given the short time frame and competing goals between Republicans and Democrats.
As a result, there are talks among GOP leaders to pass a stopgap spending measure and punt the deadline into next year when Republicans have control of the White House and Congress, a senior GOP aide familiar with the conversations told the Washington Examiner. However, it’s not clear how long that continuing resolution could last, with debate on whether to extend the deadline into early spring or until the next fiscal year.