Musk is someone who strikes fear into the hearts of the Left. They view him with almost as much hatred as they view Donald Trump.
And the Republican’s wild plan for Elon Musk to join Congress has Democrats falling to their knees.
A handful of Republicans are entertaining a bold and unconventional vision: Elon Musk, billionaire entrepreneur and self-proclaimed disruptor, taking up the Speaker of the House gavel. The idea follows a rebellion within GOP ranks over government funding and dissatisfaction with current leadership.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) declared on X, becoming the first Republican to recently propose the notion publicly.
“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).”
The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . .
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2024
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’…
The Constitution places no requirement for the speaker to be a sitting member of Congress, although no outsider has ever held the position. Musk, who ranks as the world’s richest man, has recently stirred conservative unrest. His vocal criticism of a bipartisan government funding bill, unveiled Tuesday to avert a weekend government shutdown, fueled Republican opposition.
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance echoed Musk’s sentiments, urging Republicans to block the measure. Their interventions effectively derailed the bill and delivered a setback to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Despite the intrigue, the Musk-for-Speaker concept hasn’t gained widespread traction among House Republicans.
“I’d be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House. 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,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote on X, referencing Musk’s involvement in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an entity created by Trump but not an actual government department. Greene, leads the DOGE Caucus in the House.
Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy co-head the DOGE initiative. The duo recently visited Congress to brainstorm strategies with GOP lawmakers for reducing government waste.
For some Republicans, Musk’s outsider status and disruptive energy represent an opportunity to reshape Washington.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told conservative commentator Benny Johnson, “I think we need to go outside the box … Let them choose one of [Musk or Ramaswamy] — I don’t care which one — to be their speaker.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have seized on the proposal as fodder for mocking Republican infighting.
“If Elon Musk is kind of cosplaying co-President here, I don’t know why Trump doesn’t just hand him the Oval Office, or Speaker Johnson should maybe just hand Elon Musk the gavel if they just want that billionaire to run the country,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) quipped to reporters.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) joined the pile-on, posting on X, “Speaker Mike Johnson: maybe it’s easier to just hand your gavel over to Musk.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) expressed frustration over the uncertainty surrounding Republican negotiations on government funding, lamenting, “I don’t have the answers right now.”
The House GOP’s slim majority has long struggled to maintain unity. Earlier this year, Republicans were paralyzed for weeks after ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who had endured 15 rounds of voting before securing the gavel at the start of the current Congress.
The next speaker election, set for Jan. 3, 2025, looms large. Should Johnson falter in retaining his position, Republicans worry about an impasse that could disrupt certification of the 2024 election results on Jan. 6, 2025.
Trump remains optimistic about Johnson’s chances, provided the speaker takes a tougher stance on fiscal matters. “If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,” Trump said to Fox News.
For now, Elon Musk as Speaker of the House remains more fantasy than reality, though the mere suggestion has already managed to stir up intrigue — and among the Democrats, outrage.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
