Rand Paul proposes to replace Mike Johnson with Elon Musk as Speaker of the House

The chaotic collapse of the continuing resolution spending bill is putting the leadership of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., under the spotlight, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has floated the idea of ​​replacing him with President-elect Elon Musk. Trump’s pick to co-chair his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Paul took to Musk’s X Thursday morning to pitch the idea of ​​the tech billionaire taking the House floor, noting that the speaker doesn’t have to be a sitting member of Congress.

“The Speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress… Nothing would stir the swamp more than electing Elon Musk… think about it… nothing is impossible. (not to mention the joy of seeing the collective establishment , aka ‘uniparty’, ‘ losing their ever-beloved’ minds),” wrote Paul, a staunchly libertarian conservative on tax issues.

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Musk, an outspoken critic of government waste, has weighed in on the spending bill debate and led a conservative revolt against the latest plan over its bloated spending provisions — and is calling for lawmakers who supported the bill to lose their seats.

“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk signed the X. The legislation has angered conservatives, including President-elect Trump, who also called for it to be scrapped.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., confirmed to reporters that the deal was dead as he left the Capitol Wednesday night. It came after GOP critics of the spending bill spent much of the day attacking Johnson’s handling of the issue.

It is unclear if Paul was serious in his proposal or if the post was made tongue in cheek.

Democratic political strategist Jimmy Williams dismissed the idea.

“Senators should stick to the Senate and House members should stick to their chamber,” Williams wrote on X. “No member of the House of Representatives cares what a Senator thinks about who should be Speaker.”

Rep. However, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., supported the idea.

“I would be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House,” Greene wrote on X, replying to Paul. “DOGE can only really be achieved by governing in Congress to introduce real government efficiency. The establishment must be crushed like it was yesterday. This could be the way.”

Johnson ascended to the podium after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted late last year in a move initiated by eight Republican rebels, becoming the first speaker of the House, was voted out of office in American history.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, said last week that no Democrats will vote for Johnson on Jan. 3, when his leadership is scheduled to be voted on.

With Republicans set to hold a four-seat majority, Johnson is not guaranteed to keep the hammer.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said Wednesday that he will not vote for Johnson, barring a “Christmas miracle.” Earlier this year, Massie supported Greene in pushing to remove Johnson from the podium, but the vast majority of members in both parties ultimately voted to extend the suspension.

With rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., who says she will no longer caucus with Republicans while remaining a registered Republican, could reduce Johnson’s support even more.

Paul is not the only senator who values ​​Johnson’s leadership.

On Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., took aim at the House speaker for the chaotic situation unfolding on Capitol Hill and proposed changes.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s a terrible plan. I can’t believe the Republican leadership ever cooked it up,” Hawley told “Hannity.”

“Obviously they didn’t talk to Trump about it, and I’ll tell you what, we’ve got to take a serious look at who’s leading this Congress, because if this is the best they could do, I mean, it’s just total incompetence, it’s a disaster.”

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Hawley said the latest plan would saddle the incoming administration with a “terrible spending bill” and would have to be taken up again in March.

“Under this bill, they would shut down the government again, have to do it all over again, have to raise the debt ceiling again later that year,” he said.

“This bill right here would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit, and the worst part is, it’s all for Dem priorities.”

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.