House Speaker Mike Johnson is forcing a terminally ill Republican lawmaker to spend his dying days in Congress to ensure the GOP doesn’t lose its slim majority in the House—a grotesque move that shows just how anxious the Louisiana Republican is about being pushed back into the minority.

GOP Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida announced his retirement in January.

According to Punchbowl News, Johnson told GOP donors on Friday at a National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser in Key Biscayne, Florida, that Rep. Neal Dunn is terminally ill, confirming speculation that Dunn’s January retirement announcement was prompted by the lawmaker’s health.

(It’s also worth pointing out how icky it is that Johnson is giving inside information about dying lawmakers to people who spend enough money to have a private audience with him.)

After Dunn revealed that he was retiring rather than running for reelection, reports circulated that the Florida Republican was also contemplating leaving Congress before his term expired, with some speculation that a resignation would be due to Dunn’s health.

Johnson apparently confirmed on Thursday that not only is Dunn ill, but terminally so—and that he won’t resign after Johnson urged him to stay.

Indeed, Johnson said earlier in February that he encouraged Dunn to serve out the remainder of his term, though it’s unclear whether Johnson knew the extent of Dunn’s illness when he made that request.

Related | Can Democrats capitalize on latest House Republican exit?

“Neal Dunn is a beloved member of Congress and a great man, and you know, he’s informed us he’s not going to run for reelection,” Johnson told reporters, adding, “I’ve encouraged him to stay and be a part of this, and I think he wants to do that.”

Shockingly, forcing a man to spend his final days on Earth in Congress in order to preserve Republicans’ narrow majority isn’t the only gross thing Johnson has done to maintain his hold on the speakership.

Johnson also refused to call on Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales to resign after text messages emerged that showed Gonzales pressured an aide into having a sexual relationship. The aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, later died by suicide when she doused herself in gasoline and set herself ablaze after she was iced out by Gonzales’ other congressional staff once they learned of the relationship.

“It is my understanding there’s an investigation in the state of Texas on these matters and has been going for some time, and the Office of Congressional Conduct has also, it’s been reported, they’ve been looking at it and all of that was news to me,” Johnson told reporters on Monday when asked about Gonzalez. “But I … think as in every case like this, you have to allow the investigations to play out and all the facts to come out.”

House speaker protects skeevy GOP lawmaker to save his majority

And who can forget how Johnson refused to swear in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva for nearly two months after she won an Arizona special election, as Grijalva was the final vote needed to force Johnson to bring the Epstein files legislation to the floor for a vote.

Ultimately, while Dunn isn’t resigning, he is missing votes. And that will make Johnson’s job difficult, as he only has a 218 to 214 majority.

For example, Dunn did not cast ballots this week on the handful of bills that made it to the floor.

It’s also bad for Dunn’s constituents, who won’t have a consistent voice in Congress because their lawmaker is dying.

But nothing matters to Johnson other than preserving his tenuous hold on the House majority.