There could be a Democratic speaker 'before the year is over': former Republican lawmaker

Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) cautioned that if Republicans aren't careful, they could lose control of the House of Representatives before the election.

Speaking on a panel Wednesday, CNN commentators mentioned the recent death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Ca.) puts Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a complicated position.

The GOP majority is a narrow one, with 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats. Between LaMalfa, the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Jim Baird's (R-Ind.) recent car accident, Speaker Johnson is short three lawmakers.

"I think there is a lot of concern about attendance right now," Dent said. "But the bottom line is they have a very slim majority to begin with. And now if a few people are absent for whatever reasons, they don't have functional control of the floor and they need to vote to fund the government."

While Republicans have come up with a bill that would fund many of the departments, it's unclear how many Democratic voters would be willing to support the funding bill in the case of GOP defections.

"This week, there's going to be a big vote Thursday," said Dent. "I don't know who's all here. They just came in last night. So who's around? So that's the short term problem. Then the other problem is if there are more resignations or heaven forbid, deaths you know, you could have a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) before the year is over. So there is a lot of uncertainty here. And Johnson has no room for error to begin with. And it's even tighter now."

Johnson came to power after a revolt among Republicans to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.). Johnson was then voted into the speakership again in 2025.