Donald Trump's influencers and allies are starting to hit the panic button as more and more Republicans announce they are retiring, leaving office, or are otherwise unable to provide votes for the House GOP's agenda.
The already slim majority has been thrown into flux with the recent announcement by Rep. Bill Smith that he would be retiring and going to academia. The announcement came in November, but the panic is starting to set in now as some Republicans are beginning to do the math.
A reporter from NBC noted that the GOP majority is looking "fragile" due to the recent announcements.
"The House GOP majority is looking fragile heading into a crucial season with gov’t funding, immigration and Ukraine/Israel $ on the line," Sahil Kapur wrote Friday. "SANTOS & McCARTHY out = 220-213. BILL JOHNSON leaving 1/21 = 219. And until SCALISE returns, it’ll be 218. NY03 special election is 2/13."
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Former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller reacted to the news by calling on Johnson to postpone his retirement plans.
"Perhaps Bill Johnson should postpone his retirement from Congress (to become a university president)?" Miller asked.
Laura Loomer, an independent journalist and Trump ally whose content is often shared by the ex-president, also seemed to be worried. She also speculated as to a motive for why it's happening. She noted a recent announcement by Blaine Luetkemeyer.
"Congressman Leutkemeyer [Blaine] announced his decision to retire from Congress. He’s another House GOP rep… It’s almost like House Republicans are intentionally trying to give Democrats back control of the House to spite Donald Trump," Loomer wrote. "Just like I’ve been telling you all!"
MAGA podcast host Joey Mannarino agreed and gave a shout out to Loomer.
"The GOP is about to lose their majority. We have a two-seat majority now," Mannarino wrote. "Steve Scalise is out until February and hopefully gets better in time so he can come back. There will be a few days when we have exactly 218 once Bill Johnson is gone."
He added:
"[Loomer] was spot on. We might lose our majority before November at this rate."
