Rand Paul Suggests Elon Musk as a Surprising Choice for House Speaker
The failure of the continuing resolution spending bill has placed significant pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), prompting Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to propose an unexpected candidate for the role: Elon Musk, President-elect Trump’s pick to co-chair the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Paul used Musk’s platform, X, to suggest the tech mogul as a potential replacement, emphasizing that the role of Speaker of the House doesn’t require the individual to be a member of Congress.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress… Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk… think about it… nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds),” Paul wrote on Thursday morning.
Musk, known for his outspoken stance against government inefficiency, has actively criticized the spending bill, taking the lead in opposing the proposed legislation due to its excessive spending. He even called for voters to hold lawmakers accountable for their support of the bill.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk declared on X.
Although the original 1,500-plus-page spending bill was replaced with a more concise version, it too failed to gain approval. A two-thirds majority in the House was required to bypass committee review, but the measure did not receive sufficient support.
It remains unclear whether Paul was entirely serious about his suggestion or if the post was meant to be sarcastic. However, Democratic strategist Jimmy Williams dismissed the notion outright.
“Senators should stick to Senating and House Members should stick to their Chamber,” Williams posted on X. “No House Member gives a damn what a Senator thinks about who should be Speaker.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) showed interest in the idea.
“I’d be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House,” Greene wrote in response to Paul’s suggestion. “DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency. The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) also weighed in on the broader leadership challenges, criticizing the spending bill for its potential to hinder Trump’s administration from the outset. Speaking on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Hawley described the proposal as a disastrous plan.
“It’s ridiculous. It’s a horrible plan. I can’t believe that Republican leadership ever cooked it up,” Hawley said. “Clearly, they didn’t talk to Trump about it, and I tell you what, we need to have a serious look at who’s leading this Congress because if this is the best they could do, I mean, it’s just it’s total incompetence, this is a disaster.”
He further noted the bill’s implications: “Under this bill, they’d shut the government down again, have to do this all over again, have to raise the debt ceiling again later, the same year. This bill right here would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit, and the worst part is, it is all for Dem priorities.”
On Thursday night, Vice President-elect JD Vance met with Speaker Johnson and several Republican lawmakers to discuss the government funding crisis and the looming shutdown. As of Friday morning, the path forward remains uncertain.
When questioned by a reporter about whether he’d accept a deal without a debt limit increase, Vance responded sharply: “Look, I’ll say one thing. The Democrats just voted to shut down the government, even though we had a clean CR, because they didn’t want to give the president negotiating leverage during his first term — during the first year of his new term. And number two, because they would rather shut down the government and fight for global censorship bullsh*t. They’ve asked for a shutdown, and I think that’s exactly what they’re going to [do].”