How has the 118th House majority shifted since the 2022 midterm elections?

1. How the majority started: a slim Republican edge

Following the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans secured a slim House majority of 222 seats to Democrats’ 213, enabling them to elect a Speaker and control committee chairs; this 222–213 split is the baseline reported across official compilations of the 118th Congress ^{[1] [4]}.

2. What caused the majority to “fluctuate”: vacancies, expulsions and resignations

The most-cited reasons for movement away from the opening 222–213 arithmetic were routine seat vacancies created by resignations, the expulsion of Representative George Santos in December 2023, at least one death, and special elections to fill open seats — not wholesale party defections — with the House margin moving in response to those events ^{[1] [3]}.

3. Magnitude and direction of the changes during the term

Reporting and aggregated seat lists state the majority “fluctuated between 222 and 213 seats due to vacancies and special elections,” and note the Republican margin contracted at times into the low 220s (exact day-by-day tallies vary among trackers) rather than flipping control to Democrats ^{[2] [1]}. The Green Papers counted 1 death, 2 resignations, and 1 expulsion in the 118th House, with “0 changes of party affiliation,” underscoring that membership turnover rather than party switching caused the numerical swings ^[3].

4. Leadership turbulence and its impact on the majority’s practical power

The narrow numerical advantage coincided with leadership challenges and internal factionalism that constrained the majority’s ability to act: Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker early in the term and later replaced; narrow margins forced reliance on coalitions and bipartisan continuing resolutions to pass funding and avoid shutdowns, illustrating that small seat changes had outsized operational consequences ^{[4] [2]}.

5. Legislative consequences tied to the narrow, shifting majority

Observers and compilations of enacted laws describe the 118th as unusually unproductive, passing fewer laws than typical Congresses; analysts tie that record-low productivity to the slim, sometimes unstable House majority and divided government with a Democratic Senate — showing how a few vacancies or one-seat swings can materially affect legislative output ^{[2] [5]}.

6. What did not happen: no documented mass party defections

Available sources consistently report “0 changes of party affiliation” and emphasize resignations, an expulsion and special elections as the mechanics of seat changes; they do not report a wave of members changing party to alter the majority balance ^{[3] [1]}. If you are asking whether the majority flipped by party switching, available reporting does not mention that occurring.

7. End of term and context going into the next Congress

The 118th Congress concluded January 3, 2025; post‑2024 election dynamics and additional resignations and nominations (for example, Matt Gaetz’s resignation after a 2024 nomination) are mentioned in congressional timelines, and sources note that late-term changes and the 2024 elections reshaped planning for the 119th even as the 118th wound down ^{[6] [1]}.

Limitations and competing perspectives

• The precise day‑by‑day seat count can differ among trackers; sources here give consistent explanations (vacancies, expulsion, resignations) but summarize totals differently (e.g., “fluctuated between 222 and 213” vs. “contracted into the low 220s”) ^{[2] [1]}.
• Detailed, date-stamped tallies for every vacancy and special-election outcome are not fully reproduced in these snippets; for a transaction-level chronology consult the primary House roll calls or specialized seat trackers beyond this set (not found in current reporting).