US Republican leader Mike Johnson was set to face down critics Friday in a vote in Congress that could see him returned as one of the country's top statesmen -- or jettisoned to the back benches and political obscurity.
Having seized the gavel in a palace coup in 2023, the Louisiana conservative is vying for reelection as speaker of the House of Representatives and has President-elect Donald Trump's backing as the deeply divided Congress opens for the new term.
