In effort to ensure Twitter’s bipartisan fairness, Elon Musk meets with Kevin McCarthy, Hakeem Jeffries

Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk went to Washington, D.C. on Thursday and met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), ostensibly to ensure Twitter “is fair to both parties,” but as details emerge, it appears his trip had many purposes.

On Thursday, Musk tweeted, “Just met with @SpeakerMcCarthy & @RepJeffries to discuss ensuring that this platform is fair to both parties.”

In the wake of the explosive “Twitter Files,” which have thus far conclusively shown that conservative voices were censored on behalf of the Democrats, the news was, for many, a welcome relief.

Musk offered no further details of the meeting, but the timing of the trip coincided with an important date for McCarthy.

“He came to wish me a happy birthday,” McCarthy told members of the press as he left the meeting.

Congressional correspondent Nathanial Reed noted, “Musk successfully evaded reporters, and left the Captiol (sic) undetected by most of the congressional press corps.”

Citing “a source familiar with the matter,” CNN reports, “Jeffries met with McCarthy in part to receive a law enforcement briefing regarding Capitol Hill preparations in case there are protests following the expected release of video Friday from the arrest of Tyre Nichols, who died earlier this month following a traffic stop.”

The outlet makes Musk’s visit with Jeffries and the subject of Twitter sound like an afterthought.

“Musk later arrived for a separate meeting with McCarthy – and Jeffries had a brief interaction with the billionaire businessman,” CNN writes. “The subject of Twitter came up but the source did not provide details.”

Jeffries’ participation was brief, according to the source, and after he left, Musk and McCarthy continued their conversation until the speaker needed to leave for floor votes.

Musk has been vocal in his support for McCarthy.

As the Freedom Caucus was fighting to gain crucial promises from the California Rep. before handing him the all-powerful gavel, Musk tweeted, “Kevin McCarthy should be Speaker.”

While the details of the conversation remain a mystery, the visit does come amid plans from the House Oversight Committee to hold a hearing next month surrounding Twitter and Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop — a story that, under former CEO Jack Dorsey, was actively squashed on Twitter ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

“The panel invited three former Twitter employees to testify, and is in active discussions with the trio about appearing in front of the committee, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter,” CNN reports. “The committee is looking at February 8 as a potential target date for the hearing, the sources said.”

But Musk’s trip to the nation’s capital involved more than just birthday wishes.

He also reportedly met with two senior White House officials — during which electric vehicles were the topic, according to a White House spokesman.

One of those officials was former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who was tapped by President Joe Biden to coordinate the implementation of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The other was former Hillary Clinton campaign chair — everyone’s favorite emailer — John Podesta, who is now Biden’s senior advisor for the innovation and implementation of clean energy policies.

According to the spokesman, the trio discussed “shared goals around electrification and how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act can advance electric vehicle production and charging as well as the broader cause of electrification.”

Melissa Fine

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