Wall Street Journal: “In the year-and-a-half since the amiable Johnson stumbled into the most powerful job in Congress, he has come into his own and cemented his position atop the contentious leadership ladder. But he might not have remained in his post without a last-minute assist from Trump, who has the sole power to unify the GOP’s warring factions. Though the Constitution envisions the House speaker as the head of a branch of government coequal to the executive, it is widely understood in Washington that Johnson serves at Trump’s pleasure. Recognizing this dynamic, Johnson has worked hard to ingratiate himself with the president.”

“The trouble for Johnson is that even though the fate of much of Trump’s agenda rests on his slight shoulders, Trump doesn’t seem much concerned about Johnson’s political survival. He taunts Johnson regularly about the difficulties posed by his slim majority—difficulties Trump exacerbated by plucking House members to serve in his administration.”

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), the Georgia Republican who got an earful from angry constituents at a town hall on Thursday, pulled out of a scheduled interview on CNN Friday, Mediaite reports.

Said Jake Tapper: “He was booked when we started the show. We were under the impression he was coming, but he canceled the appearance less than an hour ago.”

“People booed and jeered at Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) as he walked into the Algoma Town Hall just outside Oshkosh Friday morning,” Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

“Boos and shouts erupted around the room. When Grothman praised orders ending birthright citizenship and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the crowd only got louder.”

Washington, D.C.’s police department is investigating Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) for an alleged assault after an incident was reported at a residential address two miles west of the U.S. Capitol, NOTUS reports.

Mills was not arrested at the scene and is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which is being held in the Washington area this week.

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) was hit with boos and catcalls as he struggled to answer a pointed question from a resident on whether President Trump was moving toward “tyranny.”

“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is telling his members to bring guests to President Trump’s address to Congress next month who have been negatively impacted by the administration,” Axios reports.

“The March 4 address will be the first Trump has given to Congress since taking office — and it could make or break his efforts to pass a major fiscal package.”

House Republicans are pledging to bring up impeachment articles against federal judges who have blocked Trump administration actions, The Hill reports.

Russell Berman: “Republicans in Congress have largely wasted the first month of their new majorities bickering over how much spending to cut, which issues to prioritize, and how many bills to put forward. Whether they have the votes to enact their ambitious agenda remains unclear, but they’ve shown that they have just enough to fulfill an equally important purpose: make sure President Donald Trump can wage his assault on the federal government unimpeded.”

“Under the GOP’s watch, Congress has put up virtually no resistance while Trump and Elon Musk have shut down agencies, sidelined thousands of federal employees, and stopped congressionally approved payments. Instead of protecting their constitutional authority over spending, Republicans have cheered Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and mocked Democrats for their protests…”

“The GOP’s acquiescence is one more sign of how tightly Trump now controls his party. But it also reveals something fundamental about Republicans’ haphazard attempts over the past two decades to reduce the size and scope of government. For all of the party’s fulminating about the nation’s debt and deficits, Republican lawmakers have shied away from taking votes to slash spending that could prove unpopular with voters. Now they’re content to let someone else gut the government for them—and take whatever political heat comes with it.”

The House Budget Committee voted along party lines, 21 to 16, to approve a budget resolution that would kick off the reconciliation process for a tax, spending cut, border and defense bill.

The Senate GOP has been pushing to go first on a “skinny” budget resolution that would allow a vote first on a reconciliation bill focused on border and defense spending while saving consideration of a tax bill for later in the year.

“House Republicans say they are poised to clear a critical step Thursday as they seek to advance their party-line package delivering on President Donald Trump’s priorities,” Politico reports.

“Whether the fiscal blueprint will get enough Republican votes to clear committee has been in question all week amid pushback from fiscal conservatives demanding deeper spending cuts.”

“But less than an hour before House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) gaveled in the markup, Speaker Mike Johnson predicted unified GOP support after GOP leaders negotiated an amendment several fiscal hawks plan to offer before the final committee vote.”

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) was interviewed on CNN by Brianna Keilar:

KEILAR: Do you think that calling Elon Musk a dick is effective messaging?

GARCIA: Well, he is a dick.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) “will lead a new task force focused on the declassification of federal secrets – including records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other documents in the public interest,” Fox News reports.

The Daily Beast reports Luna wants to question the members of the Warren Commissions which investigated President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination.

She apparently wasn’t aware they are all dead.