Elon Musk Sides With Marjorie Taylor Greene Amid Speaker Turmoil

Elon Musk has waded into the conversation surrounding Representative Kevin McCarthy's repeated failed attempts to become House speaker—and he's siding with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Greene, a Georgia Republican, has remained steadfast in her support of McCarthy's bid to become the next House speaker, despite efforts by multiple Republicans to block the California representative.

Greene has voted for McCarthy in each of the six failed ballots that have taken place thus far.

As the voting issue continues to divide the GOP, South African-born billionaire Musk tweeted early Thursday morning: "Kevin McCarthy should be Speaker."

Within 30 minutes of being shared, the tweet attracted more than 10,000 likes.

Entrepreneur Musk has been championed by a number of right-wing figures since his acquisition of Twitter, which was finalized in late October.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been praised for his prioritizing of "free speech" on the platform, as well as reinstating the accounts of previously banned conservative figures such as Jordan Peterson and former President Donald Trump.

Musk's political statement on Thursday regarding the Speaker of the House position throws support to Greene at a time that she is facing much opposition.

Since she was first elected in 2020, Greene has been one of the most outspoken Republicans in Congress, and she has enjoyed close working relationships with Trump and multiple politicians who are frequently characterized as being on the "far right" of the political spectrum.

Among those right-wing allies of Greene has been Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida. In fact, Gaetz has been so aligned with the Georgia representative that he even sat in the courtroom last spring during her hearing on whether she should be constitutionally barred from holding office because of her alleged role in the Capitol riots.

The judge ruled in Greene's favor.

However, Greene and Gaetz are now sharply divided over McCarthy.

When McCarthy voted for himself to be speaker on Tuesday, Greene was among those who applauded. Gaetz, meanwhile, has continued to vote against McCarthy's bid.

According to McCarthy, Gaetz even said he wouldn't care if Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York became speaker rather than the Republican leader.

Following Gaetz and other members of the Freedom Caucus remaining firm in their opposition to McCarthy, Greene publicly criticized the Florida lawmaker.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after a meeting between McCarthy and Republican representatives, Greene questioned Gaetz for continuing to block McCarthy's speakership despite Gaetz calling a compromise on the GOP rules package "exquisite."

Greene also took issue with Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert for not backing McCarthy after she reportedly took money from him for his reelection.

Update 1/5/23, 6:35 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add extra information.