00:00President-elect Donald Trump has named several Republican lawmakers to his administration,
00:06complicating the GOP's slim majority in the Senate and potentially the House, as the
00:10temporary vacancies could hamstring the party's agenda.
00:15The process for filling vacancies in the House requires special elections in most states
00:19and could leave the seats open for weeks or months, complicating the GOP's slim majority
00:24in the lower chamber.
00:28Rep. Mike Waltz was appointed National Security Advisor, Rep. Elise Stefanik was named United
00:34Nations Ambassador, Sen. Marco Rubio was named Secretary of State, and Sen. J.D. Vance was
00:41elected as Trump's vice president.
00:44The Senate seats are likely safe in GOP hands for now, as the Republican governors of Florida
00:50and Ohio, Ron DeSantis and Mike DeWine, respectively, will be tasked with appointing replacements
00:56for Vance and Rubio until 2026, when special elections would be held to fill the remainder
01:01of their terms through 2028.
01:04The vacancies could complicate Republicans' slim majorities in the Senate and the House,
01:09where the GOP has retained the majority.
01:12The GOP has won 218 seats so far, compared to Democrats' 208, with results pending in
01:19nine races as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.
01:25Republicans won control of the Senate 53-47, gaining four seats.
01:31The temporary vacancies will likely make it more difficult for Republicans to shore up
01:35votes to approve items on their agenda.
01:39Trump has made a flurry of appointments in the weeks since winning the election.
01:43He tapped South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary, Fox News co-host
01:49Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, and named Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the
01:55new Department of Government Efficiency.
01:59For more on this story, check out Sarah Dorn's article in the link in the description.
