He might not be as well known as Tip O'Neill, Jim Wright or Newt Gingrich, but few would disagree that Denny Hastert has been one of the most effective House Speakers in many years. And according to The Washington Post's Mike Allen, Hastert plans on sticking in the position for at least three more years.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who has been publicly vague about whether he will give up the reins at the end of this Congress, told a group of supporters last week that he plans to run again and serve as speaker for the rest of President Bush's second term.

Republican officials said they are relieved by the development because it postpones what is likely to be a brutal succession fight that would be a distraction from next year's midterm elections, which are historically tough for the party in power, and from Bush's domestic agenda, which is already having a tough time on Capitol Hill.

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White House officials said Bush is comfortable with Hastert, and that the president and Andrew H. Card Jr., his chief of staff, have long hoped that Hastert would remain throughout the second term.

House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) said Bush has often brought the speaker up in conversation, saying how much he enjoys and appreciates him. "We are a nation at war, and Denny Hastert is battle-tested and offers stability," he said.

Hastert has yet to tell other lawmakers of his decision. Some have expressed concern about his health after he was hospitalized in April because of kidney stones. But some of those members said last week that he looked tan from working in his garden and appeared to have lost some weight.

The most immediate beneficiary is House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), who holds the No. 2 slot in leadership, because it gives him a chance to be cleared by the House ethics committee before the leadership jockeying begins. "What he needs is time," a Republican leadership aide said.

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In addition to DeLay, others who might be likely to seek the speakership are House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.); Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (N.Y.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee; Rep. John A. Boehner (Ohio), chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; Rep. Eric I. Cantor (Va.), chief deputy majority whip; Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), chairman of the House Republican Study Committee; and Rep. Jack Kingston (Ga.), vice chairman of the House Republican Conference.