Rep. Greg Steube said Monday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's decision to step down in January was "completely unexpected" and leaves House Republicans with even less breathing room to pass legislation.
Speaking on Newsmax's "National Report," the Florida Republican stressed that Greene's announcement immediately raises new challenges for Speaker Mike Johnson's already razor-thin majority.
"From a margin perspective, we only have a three-vote margin right now," Steube said. "With her leaving, it brings it to a two-vote margin."
He added that Rep. Mark Green's seat is expected to be filled in December, giving GOP leadership a slightly larger majority. The Tennessee Republican resigned from the House in July.
"Now, Mark Green's seat is going to be filled in December, so that helps it out a little bit, but it makes the amount of Republican members we have in the House to get votes done very, very challenging," Steube said.
He emphasized that Greene's exit came as a surprise to most of the GOP conference, calling the Georgia congresswoman's decision "completely unexpected."
Steube acknowledged that Greene made clear her decision was driven by personal considerations.
"Her family, and the family situation, if you listen to her remarks, weighed on her decision, which, it's tough for our families," he said.
The demands of congressional service can often strain lawmakers' home lives, Steube explained.
"You're in Washington for a long period of time, and so she's making that decision that's best for her family," he said, adding, "I wish her well in her future endeavors."
Steube also used the interview to highlight the increasingly difficult security environment members of Congress now face when doing work in their home districts.
"It's been challenging," he said, pointing to heightened security needs following the attempt on President Donald Trump's life on the campaign trail last year.
"After President Trump's attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, we've taken a very different security posture," Steube said. "I have to have either local law enforcement or some type of detail everywhere we go."
He warned that political threats are rising nationwide.
"We've obviously received death threats in the past [and] you saw what happened to Charlie Kirk," he said, referring to the conservative leader who was assassinated in September. "The political violence is at an all-time high."
The escalation has fundamentally reshaped how lawmakers operate in public, he said.
"So, in the home life, when you're in Washington, most of the time when you come home, when you do district events ... your whole security posture is changed," Steube said.
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