Ever since Republicans took back control of the U.S. House in 2022, their biggest concern has been the unruly hard-right members of the House Freedom Caucus, who have exploited narrow margins of control to keep pressure on their colleagues to obey their wishes.

Republican Mike Johnson won the barest of victories on Friday, Jan. 3, when 218 U.S. House representatives voted to re-up his term as speaker to start the 119th Congress. While Johnson was officially reelected on the first ballot,

Johnson, of Louisiana, has been working diligently to prevent defeat, spending New Year’s Day at Mar-a-Lago as he positions himself alongside Trump. The speaker often portrays himself as the “quarterback” who will be executing the political plays called by the “coach,” the president-elect.

Plus: Report from New Orleans in the days since the terror attack on Bourbon Street, and the Surgeon General's new advisory on alcohol and cancer.

First consider the uneasy re-election of Mike Johnson as House Speaker. Mr Johnson won near-unanimous support from his party on the first ballot, an improvement over the 15 rounds of voting it took for his Republican predecessor two years ago.