Johnson battles for the Speakership: 5 things to watch

Friday’s Speaker vote is shaping up to be a nailbiter as Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the current House leader, is scrambling to keep the gavel for the next two years in the face of conservative critics furious with his leadership style. 

The biennial vote has historically been a mundane affair — a rubber-stamp formalization of the Speakership post by members of the majority party who’ve already nominated their candidate and merely have to ratify that choice on the House floor to launch each new Congress. Johnson secured that nomination last month by unanimous consent of the GOP conference.