ANTITRUST OBSTACLES AHEAD — The Senate Judiciary Committee's 16-6 approval of its first big tech antitrust bill, S. 2992 (117) , was undeniably an enormous win for the bill's co-sponsors (especially Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee), as well as anti-monopoly advocacy groups, small tech companies and antitrust hawks who have pushed for Congress to act for years. "This is the first time that a major tech competition bill has gone through a Senate committee, and it went through in a highly polarized atmosphere," Klobuchar told MT. But the real challenge will be what comes next: passing the legislation in the Senate. (Not to mention the little detail about finding the votes in the House.) Here are the main areas of disagreement in the upper chamber that Thursday's markup helped expose: — Californians stick together: The panel's California Democrats, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla , both voted for the bill. But during the markup, both made it clear that they oppose some of the legislation's core provisions. Padilla said he believes the bill is not "balanced" enough and could potentially hurt tech products that consumers rely on, and Feinstein said she doesn't think it's right for legislation to target specific companies — particularly those in her home state. California members in the House have also linked arms in opposition to the lower chamber's version of the legislation, with many claiming that it could hurt the state's most successful companies. It's unclear if any tweaks could assuage the California caucus' concerns. — Data privacy questions: Apple and Google have forcefully argued that the legislation could hamper their ability to provide robust privacy protections to users. Several Democratic senators echoed that concern, including Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Leahy said he's concerned the bill "could lead to a race to the bottom," and predicted that privacy issues will be "discussed on the floor." Klobuchar said she plans to hear out those concerns and explain that she believes they've been addressed in her manager's amendment with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). — Security worries: The big tech companies and their allies have argued that the legislation could harm national security, an issue that came up multiple times throughout the markup. The committee adopted Sen. John Cornyn 's (R-Texas) amendment, which would shield U.S. tech companies' data from being shared with the Chinese government (a detail that was clarified quickly through scribbles on the amendment), by 22-0. And the next big question on everyone's mind : What's Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer thinking? Schumer did not immediately respond to MT's request for comment. "What we didn't let happen was that the bill was whittled down to nothing," Klobuchar said. "[The companies] are so used to everything being whittled down." MICROSOFT AND MCCARTHY — A pair of Microsoft lobbyists attended a record-shattering fundraiser for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday night — despite the company's pledge to not give money to lawmakers who objected to certifying the 2020 election, as McCarthy did. — Two sources told Emily that Fred Humphries, Microsoft's top lobbyist, donated tens of thousands of dollars to McCarthy, with proceeds going to the minority leader's campaign and GOP leadership PAC accounts as well as the National Republican Congressional Committee. Tickets for the McCarthy fundraiser went from $25,000 to $100,000. (Humphries last year announced Microsoft's commitment to not contribute to election objectors in a blog post, calling the move important for the "stability and future of American democracy.") Allison Halataei, a Republican Microsoft lobbyist, also attended the McCarthy fundraiser but did not donate, according to a Microsoft spokesperson. Earlier this month, Microsoft reiterated its pledge not to give to Republican objectors in 2022 — but it did not specify that its lobbyists could not give to them as individuals. — Both Humphries and Halataei attended the event in their personal capacity. But that line is blurry for lobbyists, whose careers are built on gaining access to and influencing policymakers. It's a significant loophole in corporate pledges to not give to election objectors, underlining how companies are inching back into the GOP's tent as a Republican win during the midterms becomes likelier. And even attending in a personal capacity could "be an abrogation of Microsoft's commitment not to support those who are insurrectionists," said Craig Holman, a government ethics expert at advocacy group Public Citizen. "If Microsoft wanted to honor their commitments, they should prohibit their employees from participating in that kind of fundraising." Two of the co-hosts of the McCarthy fundraiser , lobbyists Sam Geduldig and John Stipicevic, work for firms that represent Microsoft. The host of the event, Jeff Miller, represents Amazon and Apple. "We're seeing more and more corporations wanting to get around their initial pledge," Holman said. "We're getting back into the reality of the elections coming up in 2022, so a lot of these corporations are either reversing themselves on the pledge or trying to find other ways of getting around it." | 
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