'No room for error': Analyst warns Mike Johnson he faces major hurdles in new Congress
Ahead of 2025, Republican House members are aiming not to repeat the performance of last year's Congress — which was the "most unproductive" in 50 years.
Speaking with New York City journalist Errol Lewis, CNN White House correspondent MJ Lee noted Sunday that the members are set to reconvene this week, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) "has said that he wants to get things done as quickly as possible" — with an extremely narrow majority.
Lee asked Lewis how he thinks Republicans "will exercise their power this time around," versus when Donald Trump took office in 2017.
READ MORE: Dems 'pushing aggressively' to replace aging leaders with 'combative' reps on key committees
"They're going to have to really be a lot more disciplined than what we saw in the last Congress," Lewis replied. "Meaning they're going to all have to pull together. They have no room for error. None whatsoever. If things end up in a tie, by the way, a measure will fail."
The political analyst continued, "So he actually needs a couple of votes beyond the majority that they barely have squeezed out. And, you know, that means nobody can be sick. People have to make it to Congress on any given day. They have to all vote together. There's no room for defections. Mike Johnson is going to have his hands full, including with his own vote to maintain the speakership."
READ MORE: 'Own version of events': Activist spars with GOP strategist over reported Trump phone call