It's the Paul Ryan paralysis syndrome and it's gripping any House Republican who wants to be speaker.

The Wisconsin Republican has said he doesn’t want to be speaker of the House, but he is considering it. And until he flatly rules it out, the other potential candidates for the chamber’s top job — a list nearly two dozen names long and growing — are forced to proceed gingerly. With one breath they're gauging support, with the next they're letting would-be backers know their interest could be temporary if the Ways and Means Committee chairman gets in.


The best example, perhaps, is Texas Rep. Bill Flores. The third-term Texas Republican who chairs the Republican Study Committee sent a letter to his House colleagues on Monday, indicating he is considering a campaign for speaker — only if Ryan doesn’t run.

Flores said he would “withdraw from the race if Paul Ryan elects to run for Speaker and I will throw my support to him for this position.” And in a separate letter to the entire House Republican Conference, Flores reiterated that “it is important for me to unequivocally state that I will not run for and/or I will withdraw from this race should Chairman Ryan elect to run; and, I will give him my full support in this effort.”

Ryan, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, is saying very little. Brendan Buck, his spokesman, preemptively tweeted Monday morning that this week will be quiet.

“Before you ask, nothing has changed and I don't anticipate any news this week,” he wrote.

Buck is right. The race for speaker is practically frozen until Congress returns on Oct. 20 from a weeklong recess. The fact is it's impossible for the election to unfold with lawmakers fanned out across the country.

Contenders for the job will have to spend a lot of time cajoling support in meetings, candidate forums and phone calls. Nearly every caucus will hold its own candidate forum — leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, for one, have said they expect Ryan to meet with them if he runs.

As the Wisconsin Republican mulls whether he should get in, several candidates are poking around, trying to measure potential support. Five Texans are considering a race: Flores, Mike McCaul, Mike Conaway, Mac Thornberry and Pete Sessions. All of them would yield if Ryan got in the race. They all, too, currently hold leadership positions: Conaway chairs the Agriculture Committee, Thornberry heads the Armed Services Committee, Sessions is the Rules Committee chairman, and Flores leads the Republican Study Committee. (After this story posted, a spokesman for Thornberry said the congressman is not interested in being speaker.)

Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn has told people that she would consider a run if Ryan takes a pass, and Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo also is reaching out to test support across the conference. While Blackburn and Pompeo both are relatively junior compared with the rest of the potential field, they have upside in an internal race. Blackburn likely would be the only woman running. And Pompeo — a graduate of West Point and Harvard Law School — can position himself as a conservative who is strong on defense. He is on the Intelligence Committee, and while he’s relatively junior, some Republicans say he could help bridge the gap between the Freedom Caucus and the rank and file.

As Flores made his interest in the job official on Monday, he reached out to members who supported his candidacy for RSC chairman, asking them whether they would serve as his whips. His letter said the party should work to "bridge our differences" and called for "rules that encourage all members to be fully empowered in the House’s legislative processes."

He also asked for prayers during this turbulent time for the GOP.

"If we all spend enough time on our knees praying for each other," Flores wrote, "we can heal our divisions and truly work together to restore America to the 'Shining City on a Hill' that Reagan frequently challenged us to become."

