AI technology is 'founded on theft,' Ocasio-Cortez warns
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., warns that artificial intelligence technology violates privacy and is 'founded on theft.'

Democrat immediately threatens subpoenas for tech executives in wake of midterms

by · Fox News

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Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., appeared to signal a desire to issue subpoenas to technology executives following Democrats' capture of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Responding to a social media post that read "Live televised trials of Big Tech executives when?" Markey wrote, "They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing."

Markey is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and also sits on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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As ranking member, he's poised to become the chairman of the small business committee when the Senate Democrats who won Tuesday are sworn in in January.

Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and his wife Susan Blumenthal attend a primary election night watch party at the Omni Parker House in Boston, Mass., on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. Markey won the state's Democratic primary on Tuesday, NBC and AP projected, beating back a challenge from a congressman who argued he was too old to continue serving in the chamber. (Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Markey, who defeated Republican challenger John Deaton by a wide margin on Tuesday, will serve his third term in the Senate after serving 37 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Widely viewed as a progressive, Markey has positioned himself as a prominent critic of Big Tech.

In July, Markey released an "AI Accountability Agenda," a package of legislation aimed at reducing the power that technology companies have in the U.S.

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Sen. Ed Markey and United States Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attend a press conference to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of the Green New Deal in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington DC, on Feb. 6, 2024. (Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu via Getty Images)

He has compared the technology industry to oil companies, and often cites major corporations in the sector as impediments to his climate agenda, a flagship policy of his.

He has supported stricter curbs on data center buildouts, saying that Congress needs "to make sure these data centers don't turn into pollution bombs."

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And he's been a broad proponent of The Green New Deal, a policy framework that aims to combat climate change.

"The Green New Deal isn't just a resolution, it is a revolution. We can transform our economy and our democracy for all Americans by addressing the generational challenge of climate change. We have the technology to do it. We have the economic imperative. We have the moral obligation. We just need the political will," he said in 2021.

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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., hugs Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., as they speak at a news conference on the launch of the American Climate Corps outside the U.S. Capitol building on Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Markey is not the only Democrat that appears to be eyeing subpoenas.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., posted the singular word "subpoenas" in a late-night X post Tuesday.

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Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, also posted "LAWYER UP," in a post on X.

Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, during a news conference outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. President Donald Trump's firm control of Washington showed signs of weakening Tuesday as nearly all House Republicans voted to compel the Justice Department to release its files on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, whose earlier ties to the president have been the subject of intense scrutiny. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Markey's victory came amid a broader Democratic sweep as the party captured both chambers of Congress.

Sen. Markey's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.