Congress
Capitol agenda: Trump’s AI demands jam Republicans
Republicans are jammed between warnings of existential risk from the AI industry and the demands of their party leaders.
Vice President JD Vance will speak Tuesday morning to the House GOP Conference, where the Trump administration’s position could become clearer on what it will or won’t accept for any guardrails for the fast-moving technology.
And Senate Republicans are expected to discuss AI policy during a weekly closed-door lunch Tuesday — their first in-person meeting since initial warnings from an industry researcher that AI could destroy humanity.
But the meetings may also spotlight the mismatch between the growing sense of urgency among some rank-and-file Republicans and President Donald Trump’s stark demands against any regulation. Trump Monday called the alleged dangers posed by the tech a “HOAX.”
Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved carefully Monday, saying there is potentially a role for Congress to put guardrails on the technology while also expressing concerns about stifling innovation amid an AI arms race with China.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise in an interview Monday evening explicitly backed Trump’s comments, adding that current law already addresses some of the major concerns about AI dangers. A number of other GOP members who spoke with Blue Light News also made clear they aren’t interested in engaging on the issue.
But some members on both sides are antsy for more urgency.
Sen. John Kennedy will push for passage Wednesday through unanimous consent on a bill that would require companies to build a “kill switch” into their artificial intelligence models, he told reporters Monday.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, who has an AI safety package he crafted with Rep. Lori Trahan, said “there’s an urgent need to pass something” and that he’s still pressing his colleagues to support his bill. It’s gotten a lukewarm reception from both parties, however.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Monday delivered his most urgent call to date for guardrails on AI models.
“It’s very real, despite what Donald Trump has to say about that issue as well, and it requires decisive congressional action immediately,” Jeffries said at a press conference, calling on Johnson to keep lawmakers in session.
But the House is only in town until the end of the week and Johnson made clear Monday he’s not likely to move legislation before the midterms — certainly not at the expense of keeping the chamber in session past this week.
Thune, for his part, is locked in negotiations in his chamber with Sen. Amy Klobuchar over a bipartisan AI safety bill he introduced a version of in 2023.
But the majority leader said Monday Klobuchar was “reluctant to move forward” with a revised bill without more Democratic support. In a brief interview Monday, Klobuchar said she’s working to strengthen the proposal.
“It’s probably TBD” if an AI bill could pass by the end of the year, Thune told reporters Monday.
What else we’re watching:
— CRYPTO SHOWDOWN IN SENATE — A landmark effort to incorporate cryptocurrency into the architecture of U.S. financial regulation is poised for a dramatic showdown Tuesday on the Senate floor. This afternoon’s procedural vote outcome remains up in the air, setting the stage for an eleventh-hour scramble for the two parties to strike a deal that would unlock the bipartisan support necessary to advance the bill. Democrats emerged from a meeting in Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office Monday evening saying they planned to send Republicans a counteroffer covering outstanding issues, including on ethics provisions they’re pushing to more aggressively rein in Trump’s family businesses.
— PROGRESSIVES PAN DATA CENTER BILL — Some House progressives are withholding support for a bipartisan proposal to regulate data center electricity costs, the first signs of any opposition to the bill from members of Congress. Top progressives told Blue Light News they are undecided about supporting the Ratepayer Protection Act when it comes to the House floor Tuesday, saying they think the measure doesn’t go far enough. Though they might not have the numbers to tank the bill in the House, their opposition could muddy the bill’s path to passage in the Senate and delay it becoming law.
Mia McCarthy, Jordain Carney, Kelsey Brugger, Jasper Goodman, Amelia Davidson and Nico Portuondo contributed to this report.
Sen. Rick Scott is launching a plan for how the country should tackle its growing economic headaches as Republicans face rising voter affordability concerns heading into the midterms.
The Florida Republican, who has garnered 2028 White House speculation, will announce the “Rescuing America” project in a video to be published Tuesday, according to details first shared with Blue Light News.
“I put together a project with one goal — to educate the American public on how our economy has drastically changed, how the American dream is out of reach for so many, and how we can fix it,” Scott says in the video.
Scott’s plan comes as the party is facing a wave of voter frustration about the economy — a dynamic he appeared to acknowledge in the video.
“The question is not whether people are angry — they are,” he says. “The question is who provides the answers.”
Scott’s project will include additional videos aimed at confronting America’s biggest economic challenges, as well as a lengthy speaking tour at economic events around the country, according to a person granted knowledge to describe Scott’s plans.
The pitch at those events will include laying out fiscal steps like cutting spending and the national debt, regulatory changes and reforms to social safety net programs as well as structural changes in Washington, including term limits, according to details reviewed by Blue Light News.
Scott, in Tuesday’s video, added that his plan focuses on “holding Washington accountable” and “fixing this broken system.”
Scott’s decision to roll out an economy-focused project comes as GOP colleagues widely viewed him as being interested in running for the White House — a belief fueled in part by his recent travel to Iowa and plans to visit New Hampshire later this week.
It’s not the first time Scott has rolled out his own economic agenda. In 2022, he unveiled a “Rescue America” plan while he was also serving as chair of the Senate Republican campaign arm — a dynamic that sparked grumbling from fellow GOP senators who worried it would be used against their candidates.
Now Scott is chair of the conservative policy-focused Republican Steering Committee. He told POLITICO in an interview earlier this year that he is not planning to run for a third time this fall for Senate GOP leader.
John Thune has urged Congress to act on artificial intelligence for years. Now, as concerns about the rapidly advancing technology explode, the Senate majority leader is moving carefully.
A former Commerce Committee chair with a long-running interest in tech policy, Thune is locked in negotiations over a bipartisan AI safety bill. The measure, which he introduced a version of in 2023, would establish some safety and security guardrails for the riskiest models — giving the South Dakota Republican, on paper at least, a solution to Washington’s growing AI nightmare.
But the reality is much messier. Despite growing alarm bells from industry insiders about the potentially catastrophic fallout of runaway AI, Republicans and Democrats remain far apart on how stringent a regulatory framework should be — particularly if it overrides state safety laws.
“It’s probably TBD” if an AI bill could pass by the end of the year, Thune told reporters Monday as global players took stock of a host of warnings from AI lab insiders — as well as brushoffs from President Donald Trump and tech-industry investors.
“There are going to continue to be a lot of conversations about potential paths forward, but getting anything done in the near term is going to be challenging given the other stuff we’re dealing with,” he added.
In addition to negotiating his own bill, Thune will need to navigate Trump’s growing recalcitrance. The president dismissed the idea that unregulated AI models could threaten humanity as a “HOAX” Monday, even as his party faces backlash from voters who have grown increasingly skeptical of the underlying technology and the companies developing it.
Thune is also facing competing factions within his own party ranks, not to mention among Democrats, about how heavy of a hand Congress should have in determining AI guardrails. Across the Capitol, Speaker Mike Johnson and other House GOP leaders are warning against moving too quickly on potential regulations, while some other traditional small-government conservatives are suggesting Congress shouldn’t stay on the sidelines.
Senate Republicans are expected to discuss AI policy during a weekly closed-door lunch Tuesday — their first in-person meeting since an industry researcher warned last week that AI could destroy humanity and some company leaders called over the weekend for a joint slowdown on model development.
“We’ve been having meetings about AI for several years, trying to figure out the best thing to do about it,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 party leader. “We’re going to continue talking about it, probably more aggressively now than we had.”
Historically, Republicans have expressed concern about overregulating the AI industry out of fear the government could stifle American innovation and, ultimately, cede ground to China. Thune appeared to flick at that concern within his party Monday, saying he believed there was a role for Congress but that lawmakers should take a “light touch.”
“There is a way in which Congress can put guardrails around those types of more consequential threats, without in any way harming our ability to stay ahead in the AI race, which I think is also very important,” Thune said, arguing that the bill he is negotiating with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) would strike that balance.
But others on Capitol Hill engaged on AI matters who distrust the industry are increasingly convinced a heavy hand is needed given the risks exposed in recent runaway-model incidents.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on Senate Commerce, in an interview Monday criticized Republicans over the weekend for dragging their feet and mocked the GOP’s past approach to technology.
She recalled experts on a bipartisan panel warning lawmakers years ago “this could go rogue, so you need to do something, but the Republicans kept saying, ‘No, no — light touch, light touch, light touch, light touch.’”
“I’m pretty sure they’re going to still say that,” Cantwell added.
When told that Thune did in fact utter the phrase “light touch” Monday, she replied, “Okay, that’s bad.”
It’s unclear if Thune’s former Democratic partners on AI regulation will lock arms with him this time around.
Klobuchar has a yearslong history of teaming up with Thune on a variety of issues — including the 2023 version of their AI legislation. But Thune said Monday he spoke with Klobuchar about a revised bill over the weekend and said she was “reluctant to move forward” without more Democratic support.
In a brief interview Monday, Klobuchar said she’s working to strengthen the proposal: “We’re continuing to negotiate.”
In a subsequent statement responding to Thune’s comments, she said it is “clear” from talks that there is bipartisan agreement “that something needs to be done.”
“I’m committed to continuing to work with Senators Thune, Cantwell, and [Commerce Chair Ted] Cruz to ensure we have a bill with strong safeguards,” Klobuchar continued. “I do not expect the chair and ranking member to agree with every provision in the bill but hope we can reach consensus. Time is of the essence.”
The House is expected to leave town this week until after the November elections, and the Senate could follow suit as soon as next week. Neither expected to take up sweeping AI safety legislation before that. A separate bill narrowly focused on the energy impacts of data center development could make it to Trump’s desk before then, but only if all 100 senators agree to expedite it.
Cruz, who has done little on the subject of AI safety since he became chair last year, admitted in a recent interview with POLITICO that the threats being raised inside the top AI labs are “scary as hell.”
But the Texas Republican hasn’t yet scheduled a long-sought committee vote on AI bills after multiple delays. Asked Monday about progress on the Thune-Klobuchar bill, Cruz said, “We’re working on it. We’re not there yet.”
Consensus has also been tough to find inside the Democratic caucus. Progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have called for an immediate moratorium on the development of AI superintelligence, while others have proposed a more moderate approach.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a Commerce member, said in an interview that lawmakers don’t need to resolve every debate over the future of AI — they just need to establish a baseline standard for transparency and oversight of the industry.
“What we need to do is take down the risk of these models either jumping out of the sandbox or being released into the wild without any third party certifying to their safety,” he said. “And if we could just do that and then fight about the rest of it in a few weeks or months, that would be progress.”
Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz and ranking member Maria Cantwell on Monday said their chamber was “on the cusp” of passing legislation to broadly regulate college athletics, but the measure’s success is still unclear.
“To use a football analogy, I think we’re on the one-yard line,” Cruz (R-Texas) said at a joint press conference with Cantwell (D-Wash.) on the bill.
The duo wants to see an initial floor vote as soon as this week, but acknowledged it could get punted to next week. The legislation could be the most significant measure the chamber passes before the midterms, but it faces opposition despite Cruz and Cantwell’s latest negotiations to win bipartisan support.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune was less confident Monday about the future of the bill.
“We’ll see if we have 60 — I don’t know the answer for sure on that yet,” he told reporters.
Concerns from Republicans that the legislation would pre-empt states’ authority to regulate transgender athlete participation on women’s sports teams have been addressed with added bill language, Cruz said.
Still, some Republicans Monday expressed other doubts on the measure.
“I’m not a real fan of that bill,” Sen. Ron Johnson said in an interview, calling the legislation “way too prescriptive.”
“I don’t think the federal government should be that involved,” he said.
And the Service Employees International Union and other labor and civil rights groups made a push Monday to oppose the bill, while Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) held a press conference with the AFL-CIO criticizing the measure.
“We’re going to do everything in our power — those of use who oppose this in the Senate — to ask our colleagues to step back and oppose moving this forward,” Murphy said, saying the current version would “preserve a system of exploitation that is damaging our athletes.”
At least one Senate Democratic aide with knowledge of ongoing negotiations granted anonymity to discuss private talks said the coalitions against the bill are only expanding despite the view presented by Cruz and Cantwell.
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