Elon Musk meets with GOP leaders, including McCarthy, at U.S. Capitol
Tesla CEO Elon Musk in San Francisco, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Elon Musk met with several GOP congressional leaders this week, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
Driving the news: Twitter majority owner Musk tweeted Thursday evening that he met with McCarthy to "discuss ensuring that this platform is fair to both parties."
- Though Musk said he met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in addition to McCarthy, an aide to Jeffries said he did not have a scheduled meeting with the billionaire but was introduced when they crossed paths in McCarthy's office.
Musk also spoke with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Friday, the lawmakers' offices confirmed.
- Comer chairs the House Oversight Committee, while Jordan chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
- Musk had already met with Jordan once on Thursday, a source familiar confirmed to Axios.
What they're saying: "He came to wish me a happy birthday," McCarthy, who turned 58 on Thursday, told reporters. "We’ve been friends for years."
- McCarthy said "no" when asked by reporters if the two met to discus the debt ceiling, Bloomberg reports.
- Musk was able to evade reporters and left the Capitol building undetected by most of the congressional press corps, congressional reporter Nathaniel Reed wrote on Twitter.
The big picture: The meeting between Musk and McCarthy comes as the House Oversight Committee plans to hold a hearing next month on Twitter and how it handled reporting on Hunter Biden.
- It also comes amid a power shift in Washington after Republicans took control of the House in January, electing McCarthy as speaker after a historic 15 rounds of voting.
Worth noting: The Tesla CEO has been notably sharing his political views on Twitter in recent months, tweeting early in January that: "Kevin McCarthy should be Speaker."
Editor's note: This story and headline have been updated with additional developments. including that Musk met with multiple GOP congressional leaders. Axios' Andrew Solender contributed to the report.