Can Elon Musk become Speaker of the House as he was born in South Africa?

Amid the shutdown crisis, calls for a DOGE Speaker have grown louder in the past two or three days and both Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's names have been floated as the new Speaker as Mike Johnson's spending bill drew the ire of the MAGA. More support has been coming in favor of Elon Musk in the post of Speaker -- the idea was first floated by Republican Kentucky senator Rand Paul. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Lee have also supported the idea. But Can Elon Musk become the Speaker as he's not a natural-born citizen of the US?

"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’ minds)," Rand Paul posted Thursday.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., responded she’s “open to supporting” Musk for the role as a means of “reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency.”



Speaking on Fox, Mike Lee made a prediction that Mike Johnson would not retain the post next year and it would go to either Elon Musk or Vivek Ramaswamy. "I don't think the speaker is going to remain in power," Lee said predicting a DOGE Speaker.

"Vivek, Elon if you're watching, please sign up, America needs you," Lee said.

DOGE will cease to exist in July 2026 going by its deadline.

Elon Musk is a US citizen but not by birth

Elon Musk was born in South Africa and hence not a natural-born US citizen. He came to the United States in the 1990s and became a citizen in 2002. But that does not stop him from becoming the Speaker. There's no requirement that the speaker of the House be a natural-born citizen of the United States. Naturalized citizens have served in the Senate, House and in Cabinet positions because there's nothing barring them from doing so. Only the presidency requires a person to be a natural-born citizen.

The constitutional requirement for the Speaker post is only that the person has to be chosen by the House of Representatives. So Musk could serve as the House Speaker if he got the support and votes to do so. But there will be conflicts of interest with the number of businesses that he is running.