Democrat Tom Suozzi will be sworn into Congress on Wednesday, Feb. 28, the first day that lawmakers return from Presidents Day recess, according to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' office.

When Suozzi is sworn in to replace ousted Republican Rep. George Santos, the makeup of the chamber will shrink to 219-213, meaning Republicans in the majority can only lose two votes on major legislation.

Suozzi last week won a special election in the 3rd Congressional District in New York to replace Santos, defeating Republican Mazi Pilip with roughly 54% of the vote to once again represent the district he held in Congress for three terms. He declined to seek a fourth term in an effort to mount an unsuccessful primary challenge to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022.

The race was widely viewed as an early barometer for November's likely rematch between President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and former President Donald Trump, a Republican, and was expected to be a close race, according to recent polling. But The Associated Press projected a winner in the race roughly an hour after the polls closed, with Pilip, a relative newcomer to politics, quickly conceding.

“We all [worked] so hard every single day in the last eight weeks and we did a great job,” Pilip, a Nassau County legislator who was elected as a Republican despite being a registered Democrat, said after conceding to Suozzi. “Yes, we lost, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to end here.”

The district covers the neighborhoods of Little Neck, Whitestone, Glen Oaks, Floral Park and Queens Village in Queens, as well as large stretches of Long Island’s Nassau County.

Suozzi, a longtime fixture of Long Island politics, previously served as the mayor of Glen Cove and the Nassau County Executive. Throughout his campaign in a district that flipped from Democratic to Republican representation in November 2022, Suozzi tried to convince voters that he’s a politician who is not afraid to work with all parties, including leaning into migrant issues and highlighting the times he's broke with his party on immigration. But his candidacy was also heavily focused on getting to work, a message encapsulated in his campaign slogan, "Let's Fix This."

“Let’s send a message to our friends running the Congress these days,” Suozzi said in his victory speech. “Stop running around for Trump and start running the country.”

The special election was called to replace Santos, who became the sixth House member to be ousted from Congress in U.S. history after he was indicted on fraud charges and was exposed as having fabricated much of his background.

Santos, who has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, was only in office for 11 months.

The race was to fill the remainder of Santos' term in Congress, which expires in January. The seat will be up for grabs once again in November, so despite both candidates and parties pouring millions into the race, they'll have to hit the campaign trail once again in a few short months.

Spectrum News' Deanna Garcia contributed to this report.