Paul Ryan didn’t know until after he became speaker of the House that it meant he’d also be chairing the Republican presidential nominating convention in July.
He also wasn’t aware that becoming chairman meant he might be walking into a firestorm.
The sharply divisive Republican primary contest means that, instead of a largely ceremonial role, Ryan is almost certainly going to end up with the unenviable job of trying to piece back together a shattered Republican Party.
Whether that task will mean trying to unite a splintered party behind an unpredictable outsider, Donald Trump, or brokering a contested convention where Republicans slug it out over possible alternatives, Ryan will likely be on the hot seat. And everyone will be watching to see whether he is trying to tilt the outcome.
The stakes could hardly be higher, both for the party and Ryan personally. So far, the Wisconsin Republican has cultivated a reputation for leadership as speaker without doing much actual leading outside the ranks of loyalists in the U.S. House.
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