Overview
- The California congressman asked the House clerk to update his status immediately, making him the only independent and setting the count at 217 Republicans, 214 Democrats and three vacancies.
- He said he will continue caucusing with Republicans for administrative purposes through the rest of this term to keep his committee assignments.
- Kiley declined to guarantee support for Speaker Mike Johnson on future rule votes, adding uncertainty to the GOP’s already fragile vote math.
- He attributed the move to California’s mid‑decade redistricting under Prop 50 that dismantled his prior district; he has filed to run in the Democrat‑leaning new 6th District as “No Party Preference.”
- Kiley, who has proposed a federal ban on mid‑decade redistricting, said he briefly spoke with Johnson over the weekend after initially giving GOP leaders no advance notice.