Democratic Reps. Sam Liccardo and Ayanna Pressley sent a letter to the board of Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday, threatening to unravel any potential takeover of the media giant by Paramount Skydance when the party retakes Congress or the White House.
The lawmakers cited national security concerns as the main reason for their skepticism of any potential deal. They noted the bid is backed by Affinity Partners, the firm founded by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner with a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, and state-owned funds from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
“As one of the most influential media companies in the world, Warner Brothers Discovery shapes America’s news, entertainment, and cultural content like few companies on the planet,” Liccardo said in a press release. “We cannot allow powerful–and brutal–foreign-backed investors access to this trove of personal data, and to obtain influence over our nation’s news ecosystem, without full scrutiny mandated by the law.”