WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in sending a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, raising concerns about reports that Elon Musk’s social media company “X” (formerly Twitter) is leveraging his influential position in the Trump Administration to extract revenue from advertisers and enrich himself. If Musk uses his government position to interfere with federal antitrust enforcement, allegedly threatening to stall or block an advertiser’s merger if they do not pay up, then he risks running afoul of criminal ethics laws.
In 2023, a wave of advertisers withdrew ads from X after Musk “endorsed an antisemitic post” and loosened content moderation rules in ways that increased inflammatory content on the platform, reportedly costing the company as much as $75 million in ad revenue that year.
In 2024, as Musk prepared to begin his new role in the federal government, an attorney at X allegedly demanded that the advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group “get its clients to spend more on Elon Musk’s social-media platform, or else.”
Interpublic has reportedly interpreted these communications to mean that Musk will leverage his influence over President Trump to stall or block Interpublic’s $13 billion deal to merge with advertising competitor Omnicom Group,” weaponizing federal antitrust enforcers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In the first letter, the Senators raise concerns that “X officials could … be attempting to strike a quid-pro-quo deal, pressuring Interpublic to get its clients to spend a certain amount on advertising on X in exchange for directing President Trump to use his antitrust enforcement agencies to allow Interpublic’s merger with Omnicom to proceed.”
“The fear that the FTC and DOJ could be used in such a way is not unfounded. There is precedent for the Trump Administration weaponizing federal antitrust enforcers to punish his perceived opponents. During his first term, President Trump allegedly interfered with the AT&T-Time Warner merger, in which the DOJ sued to block the merger, to punish CNN for the news agency’s reporting on the President,” wrote the Senators.
The Senators request that the FTC and DOJ inform the undersigned of any attempts made by Elon Musk or his associates to interfere with federal antitrust enforcement writing, “The federal government’s antitrust enforcers should be prioritizing lowering costs for American consumers, empowering workers, and supporting small businesses. They should not be weaponized by wealthy business owners to put more money in the hands of billionaires or retaliate against American businesses.”
Additionally, in a related letter sent today, the senators urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Special Government Employee Elon Musk if he uses his government position to protect those who engage in business with him as he would risk violating criminal ethics laws.
“Musk is not above the law by virtue of being the world’s richest man,” continued the senators. “If evidence emerges that Musk is, in fact, using his official role to coerce advertisers or is participating in particular matters in which he has a financial interest, we ask that DOJ investigate the potential violation of federal ethics laws, as the Department should for any other federal employee who appears to be breaking the law.”