Elon Musk has not been elected to any public office, but after tanking Republicans' most recent attempt at a stopgap funding bill to avoid a shutdown, some right-wing politicians are entertaining the idea of installing him as speaker of the House. Democrats, by contrast, are pointing out that if the party — which claims to loathe the unelected bureaucracy — is going to let themselves be controlled by the social media posts of the world's richest man, they may as well hand him the keys to the White House.
“The US Congress this week came to an agreement to fund our government,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on Wednesday. “Elon Musk, who became $200 BILLION richer since Trump was elected, objected. Are Republicans beholden to the American people? Or President Musk? This is oligarchy at work.”
The “President Musk” messaging is by design, at least partially. This week, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter and another person briefed on it, at senior levels of different Democratic congressional offices, and also within the Democratic National Committee, discussions have been had about having party leaders and elected officials actively portray Musk as effectively Trump's boss, and to do so during television appearances that the president-elect is likely to see. The idea is that it's a cost-free opportunity to potentially drive a petty wedge between the notably mercurial and ego-obsessed Trump and his similarly emotional pal Musk, and to sow some chaos in the upper ranks of the Republican Party.
“The dream is to get this narrative going on Fox [News],” says the first source. “Everybody knows how easy it is to get under Donald Trump's skin, so why not give him something else to think over?”
The narrative is taking shape in the wake of Musk torpedoing the spending bill, with prominent Democrats — particularly progressive members of the party — taking jabs at Musk's outsized influence on Republicans.
Recently elected Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) asked reporters on Thursday: “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. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), meanwhile, repeatedly invoked “President Musk,” while speaking with reporters on Thursday, according to CBS News.
“Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) wrote on
On Wednesday, Musk, who has been tapped to run Trump's recently created (and not congressionally sanctioned) Department of Government Efficiency, began calling on Republicans to vote against a stopgap funding bill that would prevent the government from going into a partial shutdown ahead of the holidays. A bill must be passed before Friday at midnight, or tens of thousands of federal employees will be put on furlough without pay during one of the most taxing financial seasons on the calendar.
The current continuing resolution has plenty to criticize — including pay raises and expanded health care for elected members of Congress — but the Tesla billionaire took things much further. Falling back on misinformation about the contents of the legislation, Musk embarked on a posting spree demanding not only that the legislation be rejected, but that Republicans actually force a shutdown and boycott the passage of any legislation until Trump's inauguration in late January.
“No bills should be passed [by] Congress until Jan 20, when @realDonaldTrump takes office. It is not. Zero,” Musk wrote Wednesday night.
Some Republicans are now calling for him to replace Mike Johnson (R-La.) as House speaker, a position that does not actually require its occupant to be a sitting member of Congress.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wrote on X. “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).”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) echoed Rand's comments, writing on [Musk] or [Vivek Ramaswamy] as their next speaker.”
House Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene chimed in supporting the proposal, writing that she would 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,” she added. “The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way.”
It's not the first time the GOP has floated installing an unelected blowhard to serve as House speaker. In 2023, as Republicans battled among themselves to elect a leader after ousting Kevin McCarthy, many called on Donald Trump — then a recently convicted felon — to take up the mantle of House leadership.
Before the 2024 election brought solidified bromance between Trump and Musk, Trump openly mocked the billionaire, once bragging that he “could have said, 'drop to your knees and beg,' and he would have done it.” Trump loathes appearing like he's under the thumb of his circle of influence and allies, and while Musk is clearly basking in the adoration of Republicans, his outsized influence could once again draw the disdain of the president-elect.
