Mike Johnson won what should be a full term in one ballot, but his Republican antagonists are lying in wait for another ambush.

President-elect Trump reasserted his power over the House GOP conference during Friday’s whirlwind Speaker vote, proving that, despite some recent doubts, he still has significant sway over Republicans on Capitol Hill.

But the handful of conservative dissidents still had no realistic path to the speakership themselves. They had no viable alternative, which is how they wound up with Johnson in the first place after ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023.