With House GOP Majority Teetering on the Brink, Florida Congressman Plans to Retire Early: Report [View all]

Source: Mediaite.com

Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) is planning to announce an early retirement next week, according to Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch — an exit that would drag the House Republican majority out the door with him. Dunn, 72, announced last month that he had decided “[a]fter much prayerful consideration and discussion with my family” to not seek re-election.

Currently, Republicans have the majority in the House by a very narrow margin, 218 to 214, and three seats vacant, meaning any time Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing a party-line vote, he can only afford to lose a single Republican member’s support. Tied votes fail, and there is no tie-breaker for the House like the role Vice President JD Vance serves in the Senate.

In other words, Dunn making an early exit would have repercussions beyond just the representation of his district in the Florida Panhandle, making it all but impossible for Johnson to move any bills forward unless he can win over at least one Democrat while preserving the unanimous support of his caucus.

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Schorsch followed up Wednesday with a new report citing a “top source” who said Dunn would announce he was retiring early at some point next week, along with a “time certain” before the midterms elections in November, setting up a special election for the summer. Schorsch added that Dunn’s early retirement would be “health related,” apparently after ongoing complications from Covid.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/with-house-gop-majority-teetering-on-the-brink-florida-congressman-plans-to-retire-early-report/