Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) was sworn into office on Tuesday after winning a special election to fill the vacancy left by now-White House adviser Cedric Richmond.
Carter officially becoming a House member slightly boosts Democrats’ razor-thin majority with 219 seats over Republicans’ 212. Democrats can now afford up to three defections and still pass legislation on their own without any support from Republicans.
Carter, who served as the minority leader in the Louisiana state Senate, won a special election runoff on April 24 to serve out the rest of Richmond’s House term.
Carter had won the most votes in an all-party primary election in March, but fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed to win the race outright. He then defeated fellow Democratic state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson in the runoff election a month later.
Richmond resigned in January to serve as a senior adviser to President Biden and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Richmond was on hand in the Capitol on Tuesday to attend Carter’s swearing-in, as was Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D).
Four House vacancies still remain, with some expected to remain unfilled for months.
Like Richmond, former Reps. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) both left the House to join the Biden administration to serve as Interior and Housing and Urban Development secretary, respectively.
The other two vacancies resulted from former Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Ron Wright (R-Texas) dying while still in office.
Scott Wong contributed.