Republican Lawmakers Float Johnson’s Replacement With ‘DOGE Speaker’

Two Republican senators are advocating for an unorthodox choice to replace Speaker of the House Mike Johnson following President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to tank the speaker’s massive spending deal negotiated with House Democrats.

Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah are calling for Elon Musk, who led the charge against Johnson’s spending bill, to take over as House speaker during the upcoming Congress. Lee has also floated Vivek Ramaswamy, co-head of President-elect Donald Trump’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Musk, for the speakership role.

“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,” Paul wrote on X on Thursday morning. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”

“House Republicans should hire either @elonmusk or @VivekGRamaswamy as their next speaker,” Lee wrote on X on Thursday.

Lee and Paul have enthusiasticallysupported the DOGE’s mission and Musk’s pledge to help cut federal spending, reduce regulations and shrink the size of government. Both senators sharply criticized