Congress take on Elon Musk? Don't count on it.

Or… possibly not.

Interviews with the heads of committees that person existent jurisdiction implicit Twitter suggest Congress has small leverage — and adjacent little governmental willpower — to spell aft Musk successful its adjacent session. The senators hammering Musk the hardest, similar Markey and Warren, don’t person overmuch authorization to bring him successful for a hearing. And senators who do have the powerfulness to haul Musk earlier a dais, similar Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the incoming caput of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, are reluctant to engage. In interviews connected Capitol Hill, some mostly declined to sermon Musk’s Twitter shenanigans and however they mightiness respond to them.

Even Thursday’s missive to the FTC suggests Congress is little funny successful straight targeting Musk. Sure, it sounds similar pugnacious speech — but FTC Chair Lina Khan, an assertive enforcer whose bureau maintains a strict consent decree against Twitter implicit past privateness violations, hardly needs the encouragement. Just past week, her bureau took the unusual measurement of informing Twitter directly that it’s tracking caller developments related to Musk “with heavy concern.” With that successful mind, Thursday’s telephone for an FTC probe looks much similar Congress chiming successful from the sidelines than driving the contented (though that hasn’t stopped Musk from trolling lawmakers implicit the letter).

Politically, it’s not wide either enactment has a beardown inducement to travel aft Musk. Top Democrats person a afloat lame-duck docket and a slate of different tech argumentation priorities to enactment done adjacent term. And Republicans preparing to instrumentality committee enactment roles successful January person a antithetic crushed to support their pulverization dry: Unlike with Mark Zuckerberg oregon Twitter’s erstwhile management, they like Musk, a uncommon tech tycoon who shares their content that the manufacture suppresses blimpish voices.

That doesn’t mean Musk has thing to interest astir successful Washington. The FTC could inactive marque his beingness miserable (and his acquisition of Twitter adjacent much expensive). But beyond motivation support, the bureau is improbable to get overmuch assistance from Congress erstwhile it comes to holding him accountable.

“I don’t privation to travel crossed arsenic a tech bro that says Congress doesn’t matter, due to the fact that I bash deliberation that Congress has an oversight relation here,” said Nu Wexler, a longtime erstwhile staffer for legislature Democrats who’s besides held jobs astatine Twitter, Google, and Facebook. “I conscionable deliberation it’s astir apt not arsenic elemental arsenic radical would similar it to be.”

Few paths forward

Even immoderate left-leaning advocates aren’t definite there’s an evident hook for Congress to analyse Musk’s reckless — but from a argumentation standpoint, not plainly problematic — behaviour astatine Twitter.

“It is difficult, due to the fact that Musk is simply a backstage individual,” said Alex Petros, argumentation counsel astatine progressive tech radical Public Knowledge and a erstwhile Democratic Senate staffer. “He’s making a batch of backstage concern decisions that I deliberation are dumb and bash not hold with. But helium has a grade of state successful which to marque those concern mistakes and suffer wealth manus implicit fist.”

Some legislature committees that typically people tech companies — main among them the Judiciary Committees successful either enclosure — could conflict to find their mode into the Twitter fracas. While fashionable successful governmental circles, the tech level is simply a minnow compared to societal media giants similar TikTok, Facebook, Instagram oregon YouTube. That size disparity could marque it pugnacious to analyse Twitter done a contention lens. And different pathway for legislature scrutiny isn’t precisely obvious.

“Congress can’t mean speech, Twitter collects little information than its peers and they aren’t large capable to beryllium an antitrust target,” said Wexler.

If Musk decides to turn Twitter into an online payments platform, that could unfastened the institution to oversight from Capitol Hill’s fiscal regulators. But Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), caput of the Senate Banking Committee, isn’t successful a unreserved to talk with Twitter’s caller owner.

“Maybe someday,” said Brown, erstwhile asked Tuesday if helium wanted to bring successful Musk for a hearing. “We’ve got truthful galore slots, truthful a fig of radical are already committed to oversight issues and regulatory people.” Brown aboriginal said there’s “no existent hurry connected it.”

Some House lawmakers besides wonderment however Congress would measurement successful to halt the mercurial billionaire. “We don’t person a batch of oversight powerfulness implicit Musk,” said Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), caput of the mean New Democrat Coalition and a frequent skeptic of legislature efforts to rein successful the tech platforms.

“I don’t person a remark connected that”

Unlike Banking oregon Judiciary, some the Senate Commerce and House Energy and Commerce Committees do person jurisdiction implicit Twitter and whether its behaviour is endangering users. Markey is himself a subordinate of Senate Commerce, which led galore to suggest the committee would soon beryllium causing occupation for Musk.

But immoderate progressives accidental there’s not overmuch grounds (so far, astatine least) to bespeak Musk’s Twitter has committed violations that request contiguous oversight from either committee. “I bash deliberation determination is simply a user extortion angle, but it decidedly needs to beryllium fleshed retired more,” Petros said.

Given the packed lame-duck calendar, it’s improbable either committee tin find the clip to bring Musk successful for questioning earlier January. And much broadly, leaders connected some committees look little acrophobic astir the billionaire’s societal media shenanigans.

“I don’t person a remark connected that today,” Cantwell, the caput of Senate Commerce, said Tuesday, erstwhile asked whether she plans to thin successful aggressively connected Musk. She did concisely notation Democrats’ involvement successful “a stronger FTC” — an implicit proposition that the user extortion bureau is amended positioned to tackle immoderate issues.

Even Markey isn’t yet sold connected a Commerce proceeding for Musk, oregon different imaginable consequences. “We’ll transverse that span erstwhile we travel to it,” helium said Wednesday, suggesting he’d hold until Musk responds (or doesn’t) to his letter connected fake accounts earlier the Nov. 25 deadline.

Things are looking adjacent rosier for Musk successful the House, which volition flip to Republican power successful January. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the outgoing E&C chair, would not remark erstwhile asked Tuesday astir Musk and Twitter. And McMorris Rodgers, the incoming chair, was much funny successful discussing TikTok.

“I judge that TikTok needs to beryllium brought in, and we request to reply questions,” McMorris Rodgers said connected Wednesday successful effect to questions astir Musk and Twitter. “I’m acrophobic astir enactment connected TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram that is allowing for amerciable substances — fentanyl successful peculiar — to beryllium sold connected these platforms.” (She did concisely notation oversight of Twitter successful the broader discourse of “big tech,” but made it wide that Musk is improbable to beryllium a apical precedence adjacent cycle.)

Even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), among the astir progressive lawmakers successful Congress who’s much than consenting to go aft Musk himself connected Twitter, suggested the applicable House committees would beryllium amended served focusing connected the illness of the cryptocurrency marketplace — astatine slightest until much accusation astir Musk’s behaviour astatine Twitter surfaces.

“I’m definite the committee’s conscionable monitoring the situation,” she said Tuesday, calling imaginable oversight of Musk and Twitter “a substance of prioritization.”

Twitter’s scrambled Hill politics

Tech companies person agelong triggered bipartisan outrage connected Capitol Hill (albeit for rather antithetic reasons, depending connected whether that outrage is coming from a Republican oregon a Democrat). But Musk’s prime to align himself with the GOP’s assertion that apical tech platforms are censoring “free speech” could upend that bipartisan dynamic. If Democrats effort to marque an illustration retired of Musk for his freewheeling attack to unsavory online content, they’re apt to look pushback from cardinal Republicans.

“There’s gonna beryllium decidedly definite Republicans that volition benignant of autumn into that corner,” Petros said.

That dynamic already seems to beryllium playing out. “Republicans are ever going to support escaped code connected these platforms,” said McMorris Rodgers, erstwhile asked astir Musk’s professed involvement successful limiting Twitter’s contented moderation activities. And Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — who, arsenic the incoming apical Republican connected Senate Commerce, could marque it tougher for Democrats to bring successful Musk oregon different Twitter executives — has repeatedly praised Musk’s purchase of the platform. Earlier this twelvemonth helium even called the takeover “the astir important improvement for escaped code successful decades.”

Despite the hurdles, Congress could inactive play a relation successful clipping Musk’s caller wings. But it whitethorn beryllium constricted to stirring up interest among advertisers, who stay wary of doing concern with a level awash successful hatred speech, disinformation and different contented that’s atrocious for their bottommost line.

“Twitter’s vulnerability is much connected the PR side, wherever members tin nonstop oversight letters oregon clasp hearings, generating a dependable travel of antagonistic sum that would spook advertisers,” Wexler said.

And portion determination whitethorn not beryllium overmuch lawmakers tin bash straight to Twitter — peculiarly successful airy of the apathetic effect from cardinal members truthful acold — Wexler said an energetic Congress infuriated by Musk’s antics could inactive effort a “bank shot” connected his different companies down the line.

“SpaceX is simply a ample national contractor and Tesla sells national EV credits to different automakers, with plentifulness of legislature oversight opportunities there,” Wexler said.

Rebecca Kern and Nancy Vu contributed to this report.