Emboldened congressional Democrats are expanding their battleground map for this year’s midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the House.

But the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman, Rep. Richard Hudson, isn’t buying it.

‘I mean, I’ve read fiction my whole life, and I recognize it when I see it,’ Hudson said in an exclusive with Fox News.

Republicans currently control the House 218-214, with two right-tilting districts and one left-leaning seat currently vacant. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats in the midterms to win back the majority for the first time in four years.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) this week added five more offensive opportunities in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina and Virginia to their list of what they consider are vulnerable Republican-held House districts.

That brings the total number of districts Democrats are hoping to flip to 44. The DCCC notes that all five of the new districts they’re adding to their list of ‘offensive targets’ were carried by President Donald Trump by 13 points or fewer in the 2024 elections.

‘Democrats are on offense, and our map reflects the fact that everyday Americans are tired of Republicans’ broken promises and ready for change in Congress,’ DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene emphasized earlier this week.

And DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton told Fox News Digital, ‘In a political environment where Democrats are overperforming by more than 17 points in congressional special elections, it’s pretty clear we’re poised to re-take the majority. Momentum and the American people are on our side while Republicans are running scared.’

Asked about the DCCC’s move, Hudson scoffed.

‘They’ve got to have a list they can present to their donors,’ he said as he pointed to the DCCC. ‘But it’s not realistic. I mean, if you look at the map, there are very few seats up for grabs, and the majority of those seats are held by Democrats, but they’re seats that Donald Trump has carried or came very close….if you look at the seats that we’ll be competing for this fall. They’re they’re all favoring Republicans.’

The House GOP campaign chair added, ‘If you look at the map, it’s a Republican map. We just got to go out and win those races.’

The move by the DCCC comes as Democrats are energized, despite the party’s polling woes. Democrats, thanks to their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, scored decisive victories in the 2025 elections and have won or over performed in a slew of scheduled and special ballot box contests since Trump returned to the White House over a year ago.

Republicans, meanwhile, are facing traditional political headwinds in which the party in power in the nation’s capital normally suffers setbacks in the midterm elections. And the GOP is also dealing with Trump’s continued underwater approval ratings.

The latest national surveys, including the most recent Fox News poll, indicate the Democrats ahead of the Republicans by mid-single digits in the so-called generic ballot question, which asks respondents whether they’d back the Democratic or GOP candidate in their congressional district without offering specific candidate names.

Asked about the polls, Hudson said, ‘We almost never lead in the generic ballot. But a single digit generic ballot, we do very well.’

And the House GOP campaign chair added he remains ‘very bullish.’

Cost of living concerns helped boost Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories in 2024, but affordability and overall economic concerns may work against them this year.

While the latest AP/NORC national poll indicated the GOP with a slight advantage over Democrats on handling the economy, a bunch of surveys, including the latest Fox News poll, indicate many Americans feel things are worse off than they were a year ago and remain pessimistic about the economy.

But on Friday the latest government numbers indicated that inflation eased during January.

And Hudson says the economy is still a winning issue for Republicans.

Pointing to the numerous tax cuts kicking in this year in the GOP’s sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last summer, Hudson touted ‘we put policies in place that are going to bring prosperity to the American people, and they’re starting to feel it.’

‘And as we move into tax season…folks who work overtime, folks who work for tips, they’re going to see a lot more money in their pocket thanks to no tax on tips, no tax on overtime,’ he added.

The GOP is also dealing with a low propensity issue: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot.

‘Our voters tend to be more working-class voters, and you have to put in extra effort to get them to the polls,’ Hudson said. ‘We know that’s our challenge. President Trump knows that’s the challenge, and he’s committed to helping us.’

Pointing to the NRCC’s annual fundraising gala, which Trump will once again headline this year, Hudson said this dinner will be a great kickoff for this year. We raised a whole lot of money with President Trump last year. We plan to raise a lot of money in March with President Trump, and then he’s going to get out on the campaign trail and help us turn out those voters and make that case.’

Asked about midterm election predictions, Hudson shied away from giving any hard numbers.

‘Not going to give you a number, but we’re going to hold the majority,’ he predicted. ‘President Trump was elected with a very specific agenda. We delivered almost his entire domestic agenda, and we’re going to go back to the voters and say promises made, promises kept, and they’re going to keep this House majority.’

The federal government has entered its third partial shutdown of the last half-year after Congress failed to reach an agreement on all 12 of its annual spending bills.

Unlike past shutdowns, however, this one just affects the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It comes after Democrats walked away from a bipartisan deal to fund the department amid uproar over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

And while some 97% of the federal government has been funded at this point, a DHS shutdown will still have effects on everyday Americans — effects that will become more apparent the longer the standoff continues.

Air travel delays

Disruptions to the TSA, whose agents are responsible for security checks at nearly 440 airports across the country, could perhaps be the most impactful part of the partial shutdown to Americans’ everyday lives.

Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday that around 95% of TSA employees — roughly 61,000 people — are deemed essential and will be forced to work without pay in the event of a shutdown.

‘We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,’ she said of the last shutdown.

But it would take some time before TSA funding could translate to delays. TSA agents, like other essential federal workers, received back pay once the shutdown was over. Those who did not miss shifts also got a $10,000 bonus for added relief.

TSA paychecks due to be issued on March 3 could see agents getting reduced pay depending on the length of the shutdown. Agents would not be at risk of missing a full paycheck until March 17.

If that happens, however, Americans could see delays or even cancellations at the country’s busiest airports as TSA agents are forced to call out of work and get second jobs to make ends meet.

Natural disaster reimbursement

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is one of the largest and most critical recipients of federal funding under DHS.

Associate Administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery Gregg Phillips told lawmakers on Wednesday that FEMA has enough funds to continue disaster response through a shutdown in the immediate future, but that its budget would be strained in the event of an unforeseen ‘catastrophic disaster.’

That means Americans hit by an unexpected natural disaster during the shutdown could see delayed federal reimbursement for their homes and small businesses.

Others who have already lived through a natural disaster in the last year but still have not received their checks — FEMA is currently working through a backlog worth billions of dollars — could see that relief delayed even further during the shutdown.

‘In the 45 days I’ve been here … we have spent $3 billion in 45 days on 5,000 projects,’ Phillips said. ‘We’re going as fast as we can. We’re committed to reducing the backlog. I can’t go any faster than we actually are. And if this lapses, that’s going to stop.’

Worker visa processing

American business owners who rely on certain types of worker visas could see processing times extended during a DHS shutdown.

That’s because United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) programs are run under DHS and are responsible for processing most immigration applications as well as temporary visas.

The majority of those programs are funded by fees and are largely untouched. However, areas like e-Verify, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, Conrad 30 J-1 doctors, and non-minister religious workers all rely on funding appropriated by Congress, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

USCIS could allow employers to use alternate processes if e-Verify is disrupted during a shutdown, but it’s not clear how much time it would add to business owners’ day-to-day responsibilities to learn a new route for that paperwork.