WASHINGTON — With the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) on Wednesday, three House Democrats — all in their 70s — have died in office so far in 2025, potentially making it easier for Republicans to pass ambitious legislation enacting President Donald Trump’s policy agenda.
The deaths have punctuated a debate about age and seniority that’s roiled the Democratic Party since former President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump last year.
But the passing of the three Democrats has also had a practical impact on governance by making it slightly easier for Republicans to push partisan legislation through the House of Representatives.
At the start of the 119th Congress in January, there were 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats, so it took 218 members to win a majority vote in the 435-member body. That meant Republicans could lose support from only two of their own and still pass bills without Democratic votes.
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With the deaths of Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) in March, then Connolly’s death, plus the absence of Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), who is recovering from a gallbladder infection, the majority number is 216. (Connolly hasn’t voted since announcing the resurgence of his esophageal cancer last month.)
Assuming all other members are present — which is not always the case — Republicans can now lose four of their own and still prevail. At least theoretically, a single missing Democratic vote could mean the difference between House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) successfully pushing Medicaid and tax cuts through the House this week.
Already, Johnson has trouble on his side and can count out Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has said he will vote against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as the legislation is called. As of Wednesday morning, several other Republicans who have said they have problems with the bill have refused to commit to voting for it, though there is a decent chance they’ll all cave.
Update 5/22/25: The House passed the bill Thursday by a vote of 215 to 214, with all Democrats and two Republicans voting no, one Republican voting “present,” and two Republicans not voting. Democrats had full attendance; Norcross made the vote. The two Republicans who didn’t vote said afterward they would have voted yes.
The measure is consequential, containing about $4 trillion in tax cuts partly offset by more than $1 trillion in spending cuts to federal health and nutrition programs. Medicaid enrollment could shrink by more than 7 million from cuts amounting to about 10% of project program spending over a decade. The federal budget deficit will grow by several trillion dollars while rich households find themselves better off and poor households get a weaker safety net.
As the House Rules Committee worked through the legislation on Wednesday, Democrats and Republicans alike saluted Connolly, who endeared himself to colleagues through his feisty and collegial demeanor. He defeated the much younger Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) in an internal election to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee this year despite his cancer diagnosis.
But outside Congress, several progressive voices said Connolly’s untimely death showed a lack of wisdom in the party continuing to elevate members of advanced age, regardless of their acuity.
“Rep. Connolly was a good guy, a good leader, and a committed public servant,” Amanda Litman, president of Run for Something, a progressive candidate recruitment organization, said on social media. “It’s so deeply sad on many levels that his final months of life were spent fighting to hold on to power.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated how many Republicans could vote “no” and not sink the bill with one Democratic absence and the three vacancies; Republicans could have had four “no” votes.