WASHINGTON — Florida Republican state Sen. Randy Fine and GOP state CFO Jimmy Patronis easily won two crucial special elections for the US House in the Sunshine State Tuesday, temporarily

Republican candidates are projected to win two special elections in Florida on Tuesday, according to U.S. media organizations, boosting Republicans' slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives by filling vacancies created by President Donald Trump's picks for cabinet posts.

Nine Republicans joined with all Democrats to vote against a procedural rule to advance a package of GOP-led bills over the proxy vote fight.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday abruptly halted all work in the House after suffering a major defeat over his push to block remote voting in Congress for new parents.

The group of Republicans teamed up with Democrats to overcome a procedural hurdle backed by GOP leadership that would have blocked a proposed resolution allowing new parents in Congress to vote remotely.