Elon Musk’s Potential Candidacy for US House Speaker Amid Government Spending Bill Controversy

Amid the Republican revolt in Congress against Speaker Mike Johnson‘s government spending bill, calls for a DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) Speaker have grown louder. One name that has been floated as a potential candidate for the post is Elon Musk, despite his birth in South Africa and subsequent naturalization as a U.S. citizen in 2002.

The idea of Elon Musk as House Speaker was first proposed by Republican Kentucky senator Rand Paul. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Lee have also expressed support for the idea, with Lee predicting that Mike Johnson would not retain the post next year and suggesting that either Elon Musk or Vivek Ramaswamy could take over.

The constitutional requirement for the Speaker post is that the person must be chosen by the House of Representatives. Since there is no requirement that the Speaker must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, Elon Musk could theoretically serve as Speaker if he received sufficient support and votes. However, there would likely be conflicts of interest due to his numerous business ventures.