Elon Musk meets with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries at U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON– Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Democratic Chairman Hakeem Jeffries Thursday night at the US Capitol in Washington.

The video in the media player is from a previous report.

McCarthy, who left the meeting with Musk in his office, declined to say anything other than say, “He came for my birthday.” The California Republican turned 58 on Thursday.

After the meeting, Musk wrote on Twitter that he met with McCarthy and Jeffries “to discuss that this platform is fair to both parties.”

According to a source familiar with the matter, Jeffries met with McCarthy in part to get a briefing from law enforcement on Capitol Hill’s preparations if there are protests following the expected release of Friday’s video of the arrest of Tire Nichols, the beginning of this one Month died a traffic obstruction.

Musk later came to meet McCarthy separately – and Jeffries had a brief interaction with the billionaire businessman. The topic of Twitter came up, but the source didn’t give details.

Jeffries left soon after, and McCarthy stayed with Musk until the speaker left to vote, the source said.

The meeting between Musk and senior members of Congress comes as the House Oversight Committee plans to hold a hearing next month focused on Twitter and handling a story about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Members of the House GOP conference have promised strict oversight of major tech and social media platforms, which they accuse of conservative censorship.

The panel invited three former Twitter employees to testify and is in active talks with the trio about appearing before the panel, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The committee is considering February 8 as a possible target date for the hearing, the sources said.

The way Twitter handled Hunter Biden’s laptop story has been the subject of several so-called Twitter Files reports, company announcements circulated to journalists handpicked by Musk and his team at Twitter. The Twitter files have revealed that the company’s moderation team is struggling with how to handle initial stories about the saga. Though early messages were blocked or downplayed, the company quickly changed course and allowed them to be posted and discussed on the platform.

Musk has earned a reputation as a polarizing figure in the tech industry and for his political views. He has frequently spoken publicly about US politics and the political landscape in recent months. Musk has said he has voted for Democrats and Republicans in the past but has recently favored conservatives and says he identifies as a Republican.

The meeting comes amid a political power shift in Washington after Republicans seized control of the House of Representatives and elected McCarthy speaker in January.

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