This first snowfall of 2015 may have put the brakes on D.C. drivers, but there was no stopping Republicans from taking the wheel of the 114th Congress. While schools and roads were closing, the House and Senate were officially open for business, swearing in more than 70 new members in the first GOP-controlled Congress in eight years.

After classes on everything from the Capitol floor plan to parliamentary procedure, this class of freshmen will hit the ground running on votes for everything from the Keystone Pipeline to ObamaCare eligibility. With the largest majority since 1928, hopes are high for Republicans to help right a ship that’s been adrift in a sea of lawlessness.

But first, the GOP has some challenges of its own to overcome – including a sharp divide over who should lead that charge and how. After about 48 hours of intense lobbying and behind the scenes meetings, John Boehner (R-Ohio) managed to keep his job as House Speaker when a majority of those present and voting selected him as leader. Over the past couple years, disagreements over spending, amnesty, and ObamaCare had driven a deep wedge between Republicans – deep enough for the grassroots to notice.

In a poll released this week, a whopping 60 percent of GOP voters thought Republicans should have selected a stronger conservative Speaker, one more willing to go to bat against the President’s agenda. That helped turn what was supposed to be a drama-free Speaker re-election into a full-blown battle against the status quo.

Unfortunately for 25 Republicans, that drama ended a little before 2 p.m. in a razor-thin vote that fell just short of conservatives’ goal. Despite their best efforts, Speaker Boehner survived the test and was reinstated as the House’s leader for a third time, which, conservatives hope, is the charm.

Just as citizens have a right to cast a vote for their leaders, so do Members of Congress. Now that they’ve exercised that right, and a majority (albeit a slight one) chose Boehner, it’s time for Congress to get started on their biggest job: uniting both chambers around the mandate voters gave them in November. I hope Speaker Boehner will work with the conservative members, including those who opposed him, to use the power of the purse to restrain the administration’s lawlessness. And we expect his Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), will strive to do the same. Republicans are now in charge of Congress, but will they lead? Conservatives all across the nation certainly hope so.

2016: Field of Conservative Dreams?

As exciting as the new Congress is, most Americans have their sights set on another swearing in: the next President’s. After six years of the most liberal President in history, the Obama era can’t wind down fast enough for voters, who are already counting down the hours to the next commander-in-chief.

For Republicans, the field is getting more interesting by the day, as hopefuls test the waters for a run at the highest office in the land. With Congress shifting right, most potential candidates are desperately trying to flash their conservative credentials to a country that’s lost patience with the far-Left experiment of this administration and the milquetoast Republican Establishment.

Although the official announcements are still a few months off, several of our friends are considering a run at the White House, including Governor Mike Huckabee and Senator Rick Santorum – both of whom are repeat riders on campaign roller coaster. For Huckabee, who just said goodbye to his popular Fox News show after a six-year run, the landscape is lining up a little more favorably for unapologetic conservatives like the former Arkansas Governor.

This time around, Huckabee – and social conservatives like him – are in a stronger position to run, particularly in a nation as frustrated by the progressive whiplash as this one. Like Rick Santorum, who is also weighing another crack at the White House, Huckabee has been a consistent advocate for conservative values on the national scene and hasn’t wavered in the face of moderate GOP critics. He’s certainly one to watch as the 2016 GOP presidential field takes shape.

Young Student Shows Spine on Bible

Of all the things kids could be reading these days, the Bible should be the least of anyone’s worries. Unfortunately for Loyal Grandstaff, his Marshall, Missouri school district doesn’t see it that way. When the 12-year-old brought his Bible to school to read on his breaks, his teacher said it wasn’t allowed. Apparently, free time isn’t as free as it should be, even though Loyal wasn’t disrupting other students or drawing attention to his faith.

“I like to read the Bible,” Loyal said, “because it’s a good book.” And it’s good for you. While other students, his dad says, are “walking around disrespecting their teachers, kids walking around cussing and everything else and they’re practically getting into no trouble at all,” his son is meditating on thoughtfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And the school wants to stop him – a move that is not only unconscionable but unconstitutional!

While public schools may choose not to provide the Word of God to students, but that doesn’t mean they should prevent children from learning it on their own time. Principal Lance Tobin insists that while Bibles aren’t banned, he still needs to look into the situation before upholding Loyal’s religious freedom. Even the 12-year-old recognizes that for the excuse it is. “He doesn’t want me reading it in his class because he doesn’t believe it, because he feels like he’s shutdown,” Loyal told reporters.

Is it any wonder that homeschooling is hitting record highs? If their values aren’t tolerated at school, families will teach their kids where they are: at home.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.