Democrats want revenge.
According to recent reporting, some Senate Democrats are considering having a hearing to have Tesla CEO Elon Musk testify regarding his plans with Twitter after he reached a deal with the social media behemoth.
Talking to Bloomberg on Thursday (April 28), Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington said, “We’re thinking about it,” when questioned about the possibility of hearings.
Cantwell, who is the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has spearheaded hearings with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass), a Commerce Committee member, referred to Twitter as “central to democracy and our economy,” in an interview with Bloomberg, adding that it was necessary to “understand the censorship or lack thereof, content moderation or not, that is going to be the policy of the new owner.”
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut revealed that lawmakers had a “powerful imperative” to question Musk about his plans with his recent acquisition.
Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion was announced on Monday (April 25), but the acquisition will only complete sometime later this year, but only with shareholder approval.
Although Republicans have applauded the deal as they laud Musk for his commitment to bring free speech back to the platform, Democrats have been far more cautious about the billionaire’s plans.
Following the announcement, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said there should be new “rules” governing “unregulated” social media, while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hoped that Twitter would not “get any darker.”
However, the most significant indicator Democrats have given that they may want to question Musk about his plans for Twitter, come after the Biden administration announced it would be setting up a “Disinformation Governance Board,” which Musk called “discomforting.”
