(NewsNation) — A Republican U.S. senator has floated the idea of Elon Musk taking over as Speaker of the House as threats of a government shutdown loom.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul suggested appointing Musk — the tech billionaire — for the role after he helped to lead a revolt against a bipartisan spending bill on Wednesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Lo, is pushing the bill, which President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance publicly opposed in a joint social media statement.
In a post on X, Rand stated that the House Speaker is not required to be a member of Congress.
“Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk,” Rand wrote in the post. “Think about it …nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty’, lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”
Spending bill contains relief for border farmers affected by lack of water
Trump and Vance called for Republicans to approve a clean stopgap funding bill that is paired with an increased debt ceiling. They called for the bipartisan proposal that was negotiated by Johnson to be struck down. The statement, which was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account, called for a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Democrats everything they are seeking.
“Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025,” the post said. “The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country…”
The post also called for Republicans to get smart and tough. Trump told Fox News that Johnson will “easily remain speaker” if he acts decisively and tough.”
This week, U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-New York) criticized Trump for allowing Musk to “govern by tweet” and referred to Musk as an “unelected oligarch” during an appearance on CNN.
Musk, who has been appointed by Trump to oversee the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency along with Vivek Ramaswamy, used his social media platform to criticize the proposed spending bill.
“This bill should not pass,” Musk posted early Wednesday morning.
Democrats have criticized Trump for allowing Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, to wield so much power. Musk spent more than $250 million this year to support Trump and other Republicans ahead of the general election in November.
“Democrats and Republicans spent months negotiating a bipartisan agreement to fund our government,” Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote on X. “The richest man on Earth, President Elon Musk, doesn’t like it. Will Republicans kiss the ring? Billionaires must not be allowed to run our government.”
