I can’t tell if Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is trolling, or being deadly serious. One thing is for sure… his suggestion of who should be Speaker of the House is going to send the left into fits of rage.
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Paul posted a very interesting suggestion to X on Thursday, indicating that perhaps Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk would be a fantastic replacement for Mike Johnson:
The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . .
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)
He’s not wrong. This is going to cause a massive reaction from the “uniparty.” Again, I wasn’t sure if he was joking, but Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to be taking the suggestion very seriously and posted that she’d be supportive to the idea to her own X account:
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.
This could be the way.
She even followed this up with a poll asking X users to weigh in on whether they support the idea. As of this writing, the people overwhelmingly do, with 83 percent in the affirmative to 17 percent saying no.
Would you support @elonmusk for Speaker of the House?
The House controls policy and appropriations (spending) and can cut programs, departments, agencies, as well as make new laws like term limits and pass a balanced budget amendment.
DOGE could become the legislative branch.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 19, 2024
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Indeed, the Speaker doesn’t have to be U.S. born or even a member of congress. Musk is South African by birth, disqualifying him from the position of President should misfortune strike and the Speaker — third in line — is called to lead. It would skip over him.
The question is, would Musk be interested? That’s hard to say. He readily and enthusiastically accepted his role as one of the heads of the Department of Government Efficiency in Trump’s administration. I can’t imagine that’s not a full-time job on top of the other full-time jobs he has as the CEO of multiple companies including Space-X, Tesla, X, and being a top ranked player in Diablo 4.
According to Barrons, this might actually be an issue for stockholders of Musk’s companies, but while it would be difficult, it wouldn’t be impossible. In fact, some of Musk’s investors might even see it as a positive, given that his inclusion into the dealings of Washington have only helped his stock:
For Tesla, and Tesla investors, the speakership would amount to another claim on Musk’s limited time. Along with Tesla, he already runs SpaceX, xAI, X, and other companies, and will co-head the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency for President-elect Donald Trump.
Serving as speaker would be a significant commitment. The House of Representatives is in session, very roughly, for half of the year. The speaker controls the order of business on the House floor as well as liaising between the House, Senate, and executive branch.
Losing a CEO for half the year isn’t optimal, but it is possible some investors would be OK with the idea. Tesla has been helped by politics lately. Through midday trading, shares were up about 77% since the Nov. 5 election. Investors expect Musk’s budding relationship with President-elect Trump to benefit the company.
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Musk was integral to getting this disastrous spending bill thrown out on Wednesday night, signaling that he is a huge power player in the U.S. political system. Musk recently lead the people in effectively cyberbullying congress out of giving themselves a raise, which is something that the people are going to be endeared by.
Could it happen? Is it likely?
We live in times when I can honestly say, “I don’t know.” As Musk himself said, the most entertaining outcome is the most likely, and Musk becoming speaker would definitely be entertaining.
Grab your popcorn.
