US Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) floated on Thursday that Elon Musk be the speaker of the House, following the tech entrepreneur's involvement in opposing a bipartisan short-term spending bill agreement, Axios reported.
The newly elected Congress is set to be sworn in early January, with Republicans maintaining control over the House, which is the lower chamber, and regaining a majority in the Senate. The House has a legal right to appoint Musk as speaker if he gets enough votes despite Musk not being an elected lawmaker (although Paul himself won't be able to vote for him since he is in the Senate). Constitutional experts note that while the Speaker role has traditionally been filled by elected representatives, there is no explicit requirement in the constitution mandating that the Speaker must be a member of the House of Representatives. The House speaker is the second-in-line to the presidency in the succession of power, right after the vice president.
Musk has been a hero in President-elect Donald Trump's circle and the Right overall due to his successful campaign against progressive extremists on the Left, and has recently been named by the incoming president as the new head of a commission to reform government once he is sworn in, commonly referred to as the Department for Government Efficiency.
The suggestion from Paul comes at a critical moment for current House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), whose leadership position faces significant challenges, Axios reports. "Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk," Paul wrote on X, adding that he relished "the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka 'uniparty,' lose their ever-lovin' minds."
The proposal to have Musk serve as House speaker emerged as Trump weighed in on the leadership discussion. Speaking to Fox News Digital on Thursday morning, Trump expressed confidence in Johnson's ability to retain his position, provided he "acts decisively and tough" and removes "all of the traps being set by Democrats" in the spending package.
Paul, who serves in the Senate rather than the House, has consistently advocated for reduced government spending throughout his career. However, his chamber membership limits his direct influence over the House Speaker selection process.
