It is a wide open battle for the job just as Congress faces a new deadline to fund the government by mid-November, but work on that legislation is on hold due to the vacancy in the speaker’s office.

There is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority, should Kevin McCarthy opt not to run for the job again.

A shutdown would furlough millions of federal employees, leave the military without pay, disrupt air travel and cut off vital safety net services.

Some of the group’s members have embraced the idea of a government work stoppage to force lower non-defense spending, though many Republicans disagree with that approach for fear of taking the blame from voters.