House Republicans now have one of the smallest majorities in history

WASHINGTON — The 118th House of Representatives has been marked by its history-making moments: the first multiballot speaker election in 100 years, the first speaker ever to be voted out of office and the first member expelled without a conviction since the Civil War.

While Republicans have had a narrow majority through it all, they're entering another history-making moment this week: one of the smallest House majorities ever.

House Republicans have lost three members since December, with the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., the resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Bill Johnson’s, R-Ohio, departure this week to start a new job as the president of Youngstown State University. Republicans hold 219 seats to Democrats’ 213, giving new Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., little margin for error to pass legislation.

With Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., out until February for treatments related to his blood cancer diagnosis, that shrinks the majority even further.

Since the House was set at 435 members in 1913, some narrow majorities have faced difficulty getting bills passed while others achieved legislative success. Some have even seen the balance of power shift to the opposing party — though never in the middle of a session. Here’s what history can teach us about a closely divided House.

1917: A coalition majority

Election day in 1916 came and went without a clear indication of whether President Woodrow Wilson had been re-elected or which party would control the lower chamber of Congress. “HOUSE MAY BE A TIE,” read the New York Times headline the following day.

By the end of the week, Wilson had clinched a second term but the House was still a toss-up. While Republicans had 215 seats to