GOP majority flatlining as another House Republican announces they won’t seek reelection

The relentless exodus of House Republicans is continuing unabated in 2024, with five members of the majority announcing their pending departures from Congress in just the past two weeks. Now, a sixth will join them.

On Wednesday, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-South Carolina) posted a statement to X (formerly Twitter) announcing that he would not seek an eighth term in the House of Representatives.

"Representing the 3rd District of South Carolina in this capacity has been a privilege and honor," Duncan wrote. "Now, it is time for another man or woman to serve our District in the next Congress. I will not seek reelection to the US House of Representatives."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has seen his majority slowly dwindle since the House Republican Conference handed him the speaker's gavel last October. In January, Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-Indiana), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Missouri) and Greg Pence (R-Indiana) all announced their decision to not run for another term in Congress. This came after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) departed the House at the end of 2023, and after the House expelled former Rep. George Santos (R-New York) following a damning House Ethics Committee report.

One Republican's exit will come much sooner than the gathering of the 119th Congress next January. Congressman Bill Johnson will leave the House at the end of this week to start his new job as president of Youngstown State University. This means that Speaker Johnson will have one less Republican vote to count on as he attempts to cobble together a government spending plan prior to the February 2 deadline to avoid a federal government shutdown.

In addition to February 2, Johnson has a more immediate task of passing a bill to keep open the handful of government agencies whose funding is due to expire on January 19. He has already faced threats from far-right members of the House, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), to strip him of the gavel for his efforts to seek out a bipartisan agreement with Democrats.

According to Ballotpedia, Jeff Duncan's retirement from Congress would make him the 17th House Republican to not seek reelection. 22 House Democrats are also not seeking reelection in 2024.

READ MORE: Yet another House Republican announces retirement as Johnson fights to keep majority