Republicans began their control over the House in January 2023 with a slim majority over Democrats, and it has been steadily decreasing since then.

The GOP Caucus expelled now-former Rep. George Santos ahead of the Christmas holiday after he faced a growing number of federal charges and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) stepped down Dec. 31 after being removed from his position by Democrats and a handful of rebellious Republicans.

Now, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) has announced he, too, is leaving. His resignation will be effective Jan. 21, when he will become Youngstown State University’s newest president.

The date falls in the middle of two government funding deadlines, Fox News reported, adding that under a continuing resolution that was passed late last year, both chambers of Congress have to come to an agreement to fund key agencies by Jan. 19 and others by Feb. 2.

That said, Johnson’s departure will leave Republicans in a situation where they can only lose two votes from the GOP caucus for legislation to still pass. However, in February, Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) will be retiring, too, according to his previous announcement.

“Some House Republicans shrugged it off when asked by Fox News Digital in late December, including GOP Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore, R-Utah, who said their situation with Johnson and McCarthy leaving would not be much different than the four-seat majority House Republicans had been operating under for most of 2023,” Fox News noted.

“It’s tough to operate in a four-seat [majority], it’s tough to operate in a two-seat [majority]. We’ve got to be judicious in what we get done and do something that we can all get behind,” Moore told the outlet.

But other Republicans were more wary, such as Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.). “Between God, gravity, indictments and retirements, we’re one day away from losing the majority, depending on what happens,” he said.

As such, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has been forced to work with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in order to get bipartisan funding deals done.

“We’re getting quite close,” the New York Democrat said. “I’m hopeful that we can get a budget agreement soon, and I’m hopeful that we could avoid a shutdown, given the progress we’ve made. That is certainly not out of the question, as some people have said it would be.”