U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) celebrates being elected the following Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in a late night fifteenth round of voting in the course of the fourth session of the 118th Congress on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 7, 2023.
Jon Cherry | Reuters
Twitter CEO Elon Musk discussed methods to make the social media site “fair on all sides” in a gathering with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the lawmaker told reporters on Friday.
“He desires to have a level playing field” and for everyone to have a voice, McCarthy said of the meeting in remarks reported by NBC News. “He’s really defending the First Amendment. And we had a extremely good discussion.”
Musk shared on Twitter Thursday evening that he had met with McCarthy and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., “to debate ensuring that this platform is fair to each.” On Thursday, McCarthy only shared that Musk got here to wish him a pleased birthday.
On Friday, McCarthy also confirmed that Jeffries was within the Thursday meeting and that he had not previously met Musk.
An aide to Jeffries told The Washington Post his encounter with Musk was only coincidental and happened as Musk was leaving his meeting with McCarthy. Jeffries’ office confirmed the Washington Post anecdote to CNBC.
McCarthy also confirmed to reporters on Friday that he had convened a gathering in his office that day with Musk and several other top Republicans: Majority Leader Steve Scalise R-La., Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.
McCarthy said he desired to “proceed to have that discussion” of fairness on tech platforms with the opposite lawmakers as they seek to maneuver laws and be sure that “American has a good voice,” NBC News reported.
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