Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said this week that Congress will be "better off" without some of the more antagonistic members of his own party.
Without mentioning anyone by name, Bacon told NewsNation that the incoming House of Representatives will be "more cohesive" in the absence of certain members, even though the GOP will have a smaller majority than the previous two years.
"And I do think our House Republicans will be more cohesive than the last Congress because we have three of the most volatile people will not be in it this Congress. And I won't mention who those names are, but you probably know who they are," Bacon said.
The lawmakers in question are assumed to be Matt Rosendale of Montana, Bob Good of Virginia and Matt Gaetz of Florida, each of whom was known for challenging the GOP's leadership.
The results of November's election left Republicans with a 220-215 majority in the House. Several of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks were pulled from the House, such as Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida, and Gaetz's resignation after ending his bid to be Trump's attorney general nominee further eroded the GOP's razor-thin majority. Special elections have been set to fill the vacated seats, but until then, the GOP has a 217-215 advantage.
"So, we're gonna be a little better off, but we're only gonna have a one-seat majority, and we need to have these special elections as soon as we can to get back to [a 220-215] majority," Bacon said.
In November, Bacon narrowly defeated Democrat challenger Tony Vargas to win his fifth term representing Nebraska's Omaha-based second congressional district. Bacon added that he hopes the new ratios in both chambers will lead Republicans and Democrats to a "bipartisan spirit" in order to pass legislation.
"We have a bare majorities in both the House and the Senate, and that's just a fact of life," he said. "The Senate, you have to get 60 votes. We only have a 53-47 seat majority there. So I think we've still got to govern from the center to the right, and not just from the far right, because the fact is, you're not going to get those votes [in] the House or Senate if you try to govern that way."