Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) suggested electing Elon Musk as Speaker of the House after he helped lead the charge to derail the continuing resolution (CR) bill. “The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress,” Paul said. “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 added. 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’… — Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2024 Musk utilized the power of X to defeat the disastrous CR. “One of the worst bills ever written,” Musk said. One of the worst bills ever written https://t.co/SxVyyXb82y — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024 “No bills should be passed Congress until Jan 20, when @realDonaldTrump takes office. None. Zero,” Musk added. No bills should be passed Congress until Jan 20, when @realDonaldTrump takes office. None. Zero. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024 Per Axios: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is floating Elon Musk to be Speaker of the House after the powerful, billionaire tech businessman helped torpedo a bipartisan agreement on a short-term spending bill. He’s the first GOP lawmaker to explicitly suggest Musk should be Speaker, and his comments come as Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) bid to keep his job is under serious threat. Musk has already emerged as one of the most powerful voices in politics, and has become one of President-elect Trump’s closest confidants. Multiple lawmakers voiced their disapproval of the CR and said they’re voting NO: The CR is an easy NO vote. How do you tell your constituents that you want to cut wasteful spending and then vote for $100+ BILLION in unpaid-for spending? Top-tier gaslighting. — Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) December 18, 2024 Great outline on several of the reasons I'll be a NO vote https://t.co/CbEoes4dDO — Congressman Michael Cloud (@RepCloudTX) December 18, 2024 I’m voting NO on this week’s CR. So many members of Congress want the clout of working with @DOGE and @ElonMusk. Barely any are willing to stop voting for thousand-page spending bills, CR’s, and omnibuses. Only a handful are actually interested in cutting spending. America… — Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) December 18, 2024 Republicans eventually scrapped the bill. Congressional Spending Bill Scrapped, Trump & Vance Issue Joint Statement Musk cheered after Republicans scrapped the bill. “Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed!” he said. Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed! VOX POPULIVOX DEI — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024 The Hill reports: Musk is the co-leader of President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), an advisory panel focused on cutting spending and the size of the of the federal government. He and fellow DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy helped drive a wave of opposition to a bipartisan spending deal Wednesday, ultimately ending in Trump and Vice President-elect Vance urging Republicans to oppose the measure. Several Democrats criticized Musk and claimed he, not Trump, was driving the president-elect’s position. “It’s one thing when you have Donald Trump governing by tweet, as he did in his first term, where he was in communication with Congress, but now you have Elon Musk, an unelected oligarch, governing by tweet,” House Democrat Dan Goldman (N.Y.) said Wednesday on CNN’s “AC360.” “This is absurd,” he added. The Speaker is not legally required to be an elected member of the House, and elected officials have flirted with the idea of appointing a Congressional outsider in the past.