Sen. Edward Markey and Musk exchange barbs on impersonation scandal

Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) threatened to crack down on Elon Musk’s companies after the billionaire took a cheeky swipe at him on Twitter, showing how Democrats might engage with the billionaire now that they have retained control of the congressional chamber. “One of your companies is under [a Federal Trade Commission] consent decree,” Sen Markey said, referring to the mogul’s new acquisition. “Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online. Fix your companies. Or Congress will.” Sen Markey was responding to Musk’s tweet at the lawmaker that the senator’s account “sounds like a parody.” The spat began after a Washington Post columnist wrote that he had impersonated Sen Markey, with his permission, to show how easy it is to get a blue check mark under Twitter’s new verification system. “In a few minutes, I got a blue check mark on an impersonation of the lawmaker,” Geoffrey A. Fowler wrote.