WASHINGTON FILE - Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., takes the oath to be the new House speaker from the Dean of the House Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. U.S. 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