Elon Musk could replace Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House, according to Rand Paul's suggestion.

The collapse of the continuing resolution spending bill is highlighting the leadership of House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Senator Rand Paul has suggested replacing him with Elon Musk, President-elect Trump's choice to co-chair the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Paul pitched the idea of Musk becoming the House Speaker to Musk on Thursday morning, emphasizing that the Speaker does not have to be a sitting member of Congress.

Elon Musk need not be a member of Congress to disrupt the swamp, as Paul, a staunchly libertarian conservative on fiscal matters, wrote.

The spending bill debate has been met with opposition from Musk, who has criticized government waste and led a conservative movement against the latest plan due to its excessive spending provisions. As a result, Musk has called for lawmakers who supported the bill to lose their seats.

"Any member of Congress who supports this wasteful spending bill should be voted out in two years, as Musk and Trump have both stated," the legislation has angered conservatives, including President-elect Trump who also called for it to be abolished.

On Wednesday night, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., confirmed to reporters that the deal was dead after GOP critics of the spending bill spent much of the day attacking Johnson's handling of the issue.

It's unclear if Paul was being serious or if his suggestion was made with a touch of humor.

Democratic political strategist Jimmy Williams balked at the idea.

"Senators should focus on their Senate duties and House members should concentrate on their House responsibilities," Williams wrote on X. "House members do not care about senators' opinions on who should be Speaker."

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

"Greene wrote on X replying to Paul, "I would be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House. DOGE can only be accomplished by enacting real government efficiency through Congress. The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way.""

The first time in U.S. history, a House speaker was voted out of the position after former House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted late last year in a move initiated by eight Republican rebels.

Last week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., stated that no Democrats would support Johnson's bill, which is set to be voted on January 3rd.

Johnson's retention of the gavel is not guaranteed with Republicans holding a four-seat majority.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., stated on Wednesday that he will not vote for Johnson unless there is a "Christmas miracle." Although he previously supported Greene's attempt to remove Johnson from the speakership, the majority of members in both parties ultimately rejected the effort.

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., has announced that she will no longer caucus with Republicans, which may reduce Johnson's support to a single vote.

Johnson's leadership has been evaluated by other senators, not just Paul.

On Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo, criticized the House Speaker for the chaos on Capitol Hill and proposed solutions.

Hawley told Hannity that the plan was horrific and it was unbelievable that Republican leadership had come up with it.

"It's evident that they didn't discuss the issue with Trump, and I believe we must examine the leadership of this Congress because if this is the best they can achieve, it's a complete failure, which is a catastrophe."

The incoming administration will face a "terrible spending bill" from the latest plan, which needs to be revisited again in March, according to Hawley.

"The bill would result in another government shutdown, necessitating the repetition of the process later in the year, including raising the debt ceiling once more."

"The bill in question would significantly increase the deficit, with the majority of the spending going towards Democratic priorities."

Planet Chronicle’ Danielle Wallace and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.