Billionaire Elon Musk saw a sharp 10 percent increase in his odds of being Speaker of the House on Polymarket, the crypto-based betting platform, after several lawmakers suggested him for the job.
Musk, who has quickly ascended as a close ally of Donald Trump, proved just how powerful political influence is this week when he managed to convince Republicans in Congress to oppose the bipartisan spending bill that, if passed, will prevent the government from shutting down.
Wielding his influence on the social media platform he owns, X, Musk sent out more than 150 posts urging Republicans to break from the bill backed by the current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
This, seemingly, gave some the idea that Musk could serve as a competent speaker.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . . Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk,” Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on X on Thursday morning.
He added, “... think about it . . . nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”
The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . .
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2024
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’…
Senator Mike Lee of Utah said new leadership in the House felt “almost inevitable” as Johnson faces doubts within his party. Lee suggested House Republicans look toward Musk or his co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy.
“Given they’ve all expressed such affection for Vivek and for Elon, let them choose one of them, I don’t care which one, to be their speaker,” Lee said.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, another staunch Trump supporter, also floated the idea with a poll on X.
Would you support @elonmusk for Speaker of the House?
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 19, 2024
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.
The proposal inspired some to take to Polymarket and place bets on Musk becoming the new speaker.
Between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., Musk’s odds jumped from one percent to 12 percent.
Polymarket gained traction during the presidential election when an influx of bets placed on Trump winning raised some eyebrows. Those results stood in direct contrast to public polling from universities, media outlets and survey centers which had Vice President Kamala Harris winning.
Ultimately, Trump did win – giving Polymarket a boost in reliability. However, by Thursday afternoon, Musk’s odds had returned to one percent.
Musk could, in theory, become Speaker of the House. Nothing in the Constitution prevents a non-congressional member from being elected to serve as speaker – so long as they are nominated and win a majority of votes.
However, the Tesla and Space X CEO has specifically taken up an advisory role over an official position in the government. It allows him to have influence and flexibility without dealing with the administrative hurdles that come with holding an official position.
