Trump begins endorsing replacements to replenish GOP majority in House as Cabinet picks shrink lead

President-elect Trump began endorsing fellow Republicans this week to replace members of Congress who have vacated their seats to join his Cabinet. 

The endorsements come amid fears that the party's razor-thin majority in the House - the size of which still remains undetermined - could be in jeopardy as a result of Trump's selections from the lower chamber.

Fine would run in Florida's 6th Congressional District, a seat that is currently held by Trump's pick to be his next national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz. Patronis would run in Florida's deep-red 1st District, previously held by former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump nominated him to be attorney general, but allegations of sexual assault and other improprieties prompted Gaetz to withdraw his name from the running. He has denied any wrongdoing.

While Waltz, Stefanik and Gaetz's seats all sit in Republican strongholds, lawmakers have nonetheless signaled concern, particularly, because the ensuing special elections could likely occur within the first weeks or months of Trump's term and potentially stymie Trump's ambitions for his first 100 days in office.

"President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here, and it's just a numbers game. You know, we believe we're going to have a larger majority than we had last time. It's too early to handicap it, but we are optimistic about that," Johnson said. "But every single vote will count, because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane, then it affects the votes on the floor. So, I think he and the administration are well attuned to that. I don't expect that we will have more members leaving, but I'll leave that up to him."

Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital that the president-elect "is 100% committed" to working with House leadership, including Speaker Johnson, "to maintain the House GOP majority and immediately get to work in January" to implement the policies that voters elected him on.

Fox News Digital politics reporter Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.