Gabe Amo Sworn In to House, Narrowing GOP Majority

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) (left) participates in a ceremonial swearing in for new Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.) at the Capitol in Washington on Nov. 13, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Democrat Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.) has been sworn into the House of Representatives, bringing the party’s conference back up to 213 members after nearly six months.

Mr. Amo was sworn into the lower chamber on Monday evening after a special election last week to fill the seat of the outgoing Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who retired from politics earlier this year. Mr. Amo will finish out Mr. Cicilline’s term before letting voters decide if he will stay in the job following the next election.

The son of Ghanaian and Liberian immigrants, Rep. Amo has a long history in politics. His most recent role was working as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden. He previously worked in state government, and also for the White House under former President Barack Obama.

Mr. Amo’s appointment in the House brings the total number of lawmakers to 434, raising the majority threshold needed to pass legislation back up to 218. The GOP won 222 seats in the House during the 2022 midterm elections, meaning its slim majority is now down to just four votes if all members are present.

Funding Deadline Looms Over House

One more Democrat in the House could prove a problem for newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who still needs to pass annual appropriations bills to avoid another shutdown by the Nov. 17 government funding deadline. So far, the Democrats have opposed any measures that involve cuts to spending.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 26, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Speaker Johnson has already proposed a measure in the form of a two-step continuing resolution that would fund some parts of the federal government until Jan. 19 and then continue funding others until at least Feb. 2. The proposed bill could maintain current fiscal levels with no spending cuts and delay appropriations deadlines until early next year. However, both sides of the aisle have expressed criticism of the measure, putting doubt on whether it will pass.

The White House has already criticized the proposal, calling it “unserious.”

“This proposal is just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns—full stop,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Some Republicans have said they would vote against the bill as well because they are not interested in a clean continuing resolution. The resolution being “clean” essentially means it does not have any amendments or policy riders, including cuts to federal spending.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of those opposed to the bill, took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to say, “It’s a 100% clean. And I 100% oppose.”

There has been a political standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling all year. Many Republicans have been calling for cuts to spending as the national debt passes $33 trillion. In his last act as speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif,), with the support of House Democrats, pushed a stopgap spending bill through the lower chamber to keep the government funded until Nov. 17.

The debt limit, imposed by Congress, restricts the total amount of money the government can borrow. In the past, when nearing the debt ceiling, Congress usually raised the cap. But after decades of ballooning debts, in recent times, raising the debt ceiling has been opposed by Republicans.

The U.S. Treasury has said in its estimates it expects to borrow nearly $1.6 trillion in net new debt across the next six-month period covering this quarter and next quarter.

The House is expected to consider Speaker Johnson’s bill on Tuesday.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.