Historically, the party that wins the White House sees the House flip to the opposing party in the midterm elections following the presidential win. But National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) promised the GOP majority would be here to stay and bigger than before as they tackle the “battlefield” before them.

“Over the next few days, we’ll be indoors,” Hudson said during Monday’s press conference to kick off the retreat. “We’ll be laying out our vision and our plans for 2026, and I can tell you the NRCC and House Republicans, we’re going to be on offense.” 

Hudson noted the 13 Democrats who won reelection in districts carried by President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, marking them as targets for the 2026 midterm elections. House Republicans currently hold a one-seat majority due to a few vacancies and will only have a two or three-seat majority when all members are sat.

“Only three Republicans who hold seats that Kamala Harris carried,” Hudson said. “And so the battlefield was laid out for us to our advantage. So we’re going to deliver for the American people. And then we’re going to hold the Democrats accountable if they don’t vote for the agenda that the American people want to see.”

Though Democrats are expected to take back the House in 2026 based on historical data, current events are showing that may be easier said than done. In the wake of the 2024 election, Democrats have entered a revamping and reflection period as the party deals with former Vice President Kamala Harris’s drastic loss to Trump, as well as the loss of the Senate majority.

Blue-collar voters turned to Trump in 2024, attracted to Republicans’ stances on the economy and immigration — two losing issues for Democrats shown evident by the loss of some key Democrats in swing seats and Harris’s defeat in all seven battleground states.

Johnson praised the unified GOP trifecta, arguing it will stand in stark contrast to former President Joe Biden’s government.

“The Democratic Party is in disarray,” Johnson said during the press conference. “They have no obvious leader. They have no obvious vision or agenda. Their platform has to be rewritten. … They don’t exactly know how they’re going to wander in this wilderness for the next couple of years.”

“It’s not just going to be a couple of years here, though; it’s going to be four years at least and then more because we are going to win grow the House majority in 2026,” the speaker added.

Johnson said Republicans will defy the historic trend of losing the House by coming together to deliver on Trump’s agenda.

The 2026 midterm elections, though a time away, have already been at the forefront of leadership’s minds since the start of the new Congress. 

Just a few days after incumbent and new House members were sworn into office, Johnson relaunched his “Grow the Majority” joint fundraising committee. The committee is Johnson’s main vehicle to raise money for House GOP campaigns and Republican-aligned campaign organizations, with a maximum contribution from over 70 Republican entities set at over $1 million. 

The committee will work in tandem with House GOP incumbents, Republican challengers to Democratic-held seats, state GOP parties, and the Republican National Committee.

For 2026, every seat counts. Special elections are being held Tuesday to fill the seats of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned last year, and former Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who resigned last week to become Trump’s national security adviser. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is also set to resign once she is confirmed as the ambassador to the United Nations. 

Once all seats are filled, Johnson will operate under a 220-215 majority, allowing him to lose just two votes to pass legislation along party lines.

Over 160 lawmakers are attending the retreat in Florida, located at Trump National Doral resort, to discuss not only 2026 but reconciliation and other aspects of the president’s agenda. 

Republican leadership is hoping the retreat will bring the conference together after a two-year stint of infamous infighting between hard-line conservatives and moderate GOP lawmakers that caused delays in key pieces of legislation and, often, the assistance of the Democrats to push policies over the finish line.

Johnson said the lawmakers won’t get to “enjoy much” of the time in sunny Doral. They will instead be in “long sessions” working through Trump’s agenda, including reconciliation and appropriations with government funding expiring on March 14.

“You all heard about the proverbial playbook that we developed over the last year leading up to this moment that we knew what would happen, and now we’re working out the final sequence of plays,” Johnson said. “So, some big decisions will be made here in the next few days.”

Whether the conference emerges victorious with a plan in hand remains to be seen, as the House GOP must also work in tandem with Senate Republicans to use reconciliation to bypass the filibuster. Arguments over a one-bill or two-bill solution are not only cross-chamber but cross-party, with hard-liners in the Freedom Caucus pushing for a two-bill solution with massive spending cuts.