Congress

Capitol agenda: Congress isn’t rushing after AI alarms

Published

1 month ago

September 14, 2026

The top executives running America’s most powerful artificial intelligence companies over the weekend agreed their industry needs to slow down — or risk humanity’s safety.

But the chance of Congress rushing to action in the coming weeks is next to zero.

One obstacle is the tight calendar before the midterms: Lawmakers return Monday, but the House is scheduled to leave by Friday and the Senate is already eyeing cutting their three-week session to two.

Another hurdle is the lack of momentum behind any plan. Senate Commerce could hold a markup of AI legislation this month, but it’s unclear a broad bipartisan AI safety bill being pushed by Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Amy Klobuchar will be finalized. Senators can’t yet agree on provisions that would hold AI labs legally accountable.

And some don’t think there’s a need to do anything right now: Senior House Republicans have largely stood in line with President Donald Trump, who has brushed aside concerns of an existential threat in light of the AI arms race against China.

— WHAT’S NEXT: Speaker Mike Johnson suggested lawmakers, Trump and tech execs as soon as Monday “go in a big room, close the door and sort this out.”

Yet Johnson in a Sunday interview on BLN threw cold water on the idea of Congress fast-tracking a legislative solution, arguing that setting industry-wide safety protocols should be the responsibility of the tech companies themselves.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, said AI would be “a high priority” during House Democrats’ weekly caucus meeting Tuesday.

But while he said Congress needed to “take decisive action to slow down the pace of development,” he didn’t articulate any plan for doing so.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is out with a statement Monday morning that’s also short on details — saying simply that while he understands concerns about giving China the advantage on AI, Congress needs to act to put “safe, responsible and accountable guardrails on it.” He called for legislation to cut off the flow of advanced AI chips and semiconductor technology to China to slow their development.

He’s also calling for an all-senators classified briefing from administration officials on how they plan to deal with the rapidly-evolving technology.

— ALARM BELLS: Meanwhile concern is brewing within the rank-and-file of both parties that could add political pressure:

Rep. Lori Trahan told Blue Light News in an interview Sunday it was a mistake for the House to leave town so early and that she’d push for members to stay longer to deal with the AI risk. Short of the whole House remaining in session, she’s suggesting at least a smaller group of negotiators stick around to hash out a plan.

“I just want to make sure that Congress is in a position to act quickly,” Trahan said.

She’s worried, though, that leaders won’t get behind her bipartisan legislation that would, among other things, create a possible emergency brake for AI models. It’s the only comprehensive bill of its kind that’s ready to work its way through committee.

Retiring Rep. Chip Roy is also sounding the alarm in an interview with Blue Light News about the need to “have some degree of guardrails” on technology that could fundamentally change what it means to be a “free human.”

And on the campaign trail, frontline Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers on Sunday pointed to the tech executives’ warnings and said he believed AI development needed to slow down to allow the government to put a national security framework in place.

“The first role of our government is to keep us safe,” he said.

What else we’re watching:

— DATA CENTER VOTE ON TAP — House GOP leaders Tuesday plan to bring legislation to the floor to curb data center costs, marking lawmakers’ biggest step yet to regulate AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, Sen. Jon Husted is “having conversations on how the Senate can follow suit,” according to an aide. The decision to proceed this coming week signals that pressure has been building on leaders to act, underscored by the fact at least five House GOP frontliners have signed on as co-sponsors since Sept. 1: Reps. Bill Huizenga, Tom Barrett, David Valadao, Jen Kiggans and Mónica de la Cruz.

— GOP REVAMPS CRYPTO BILL — Senate Republicans late Sunday released revised text of a landmark cryptocurrency bill with key changes aimed at winning over Democratic holdouts, including new, White House-blessed government ethics language covering federal officials’ engagements with digital assets. It is unclear if the changes will be enough to win enough bipartisan support to advance the measure on the Senate floor this week. It is set for a key procedural vote Tuesday afternoon. Schumer convened Democrats to discuss the measure Sunday night, before Republicans unveiled their new text.

Ali Bianco, Kelsey Brugger, Nico Portuondo and Jasper Goodman contributed to this report.

Congress

Authorities investigate ‘suspicious substances’ mailed to congressional offices

Published

8 minutes ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Authorities are investigating letters containing “suspicious substances” sent to multiple Capitol Hill offices, according to a notice sent to senior congressional staff.

“Law enforcement officials are working to intercept any additional letters before they are delivered, however, it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations,” says a memo from the Senate Sergeant at Arms and obtained by Blue Light News.

The Capitol Police, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are involved in the probe, according to the notice, which said additional letters have been mailed to other addresses across the U.S., including lawmakers’ state and district offices.

It is unclear if any of the suspicious letters reached Capitol Hill. Letters and packages sent to congressional offices are subject to off-site screening under a system established after the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The memo includes a photo of one of the suspicious envelopes and warns staff to keep an eye out for warning signs, such as messy handwriting or postmarks that do not match the return address. The memo was first reported by Bloomberg Government.

Suspicious letters were also sent to state election offices and election officials, according to a joint statement Wednesday from the National Association of Secretaries of State and National Association of State Election Directors.

They said they are working with law enforcement to protect “personnel and facilities” and that contingency plans and security measures are in place to respond to threats “while maintaining essential election operations.”

House and Senate mail is processed in two separate Maryland facilities where materials are screened, irradiated and tested for a variety of substances before they are sent to the Capitol complex — a process that can add as much as two weeks to delivery.

The process has proved effective in the past, catching a string of suspected explosive devices sent to prominent Democrats in 2018 and a ricin-laced envelope sent to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in 2013.

Members’ district and state offices have the option to send mail for screening before it is delivered or to contract with a similar mail security system.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

Congress

Bipartisan House group urges Trump to enforce Russia sanctions, scrap diesel deal

Published

22 minutes ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers urged President Donald Trump to follow through on the Russia sanctions law he signed last month, warning on Thursday against giving Moscow economic relief as a key enforcement deadline approaches.

In a letter led by Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and shared first with Blue Light News, 22 House lawmakers asked Trump to fully implement the sanctions law named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham by Oct. 18 and scrap his administration’s recent Russian diesel deal.

“As Russia prepares to wage a fifth winter campaign against Ukraine, the United States has an opportunity to reinvigorate peace efforts by placing maximum pressure on Vladimir Putin and the governments and networks that finance his war,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter sent to Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The House lawmakers called for the Trump administration to apply sanctions “to their fullest extent and without delay” against Russian officials, oligarchs and banks financing the war — as well as the foreign banks, shadow fleet operators and intermediaries helping Moscow evade restrictions.

Included among the lawmakers who signed Thursday’s letter are Republican Reps. Don Bacon (Neb.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Michael McCaul (Texas), Dan Newhouse (Wash.) and Joe Wilson (S.C.), along with Democrats including Reps. Steny Hoyer (Md.), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio) and Jared Golden (Maine) — among others.

The lawmakers’ demands Thursday add to growing bipartisan pressure on Trump over his deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the president announced on Friday that Russia would supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel to the “American and Global Marketplace.”

They also requested details on which sanctions and tariffs will take effect before Oct. 18, whether any provisions will be delayed or waived, and how the administration reconciles the diesel license with the existing statutory ban on Russian energy imports.

“Putin has repeatedly shown that he responds to pressure, not goodwill,” the House members wrote. “This will make clear that American resolve is bipartisan and durable, and that the cost of continuing this war will only grow until Russia comes to the negotiating table.

The White House, the State Department and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump defended the agreement Tuesday as “a deal for the world,” saying the diesel would enter global markets rather than go directly to the U.S. The move comes as the president scrambles to try to bring down fuel prices ahead of the midterms.

The Iran war — now in its seventh month — has contributed to the surge in costs, with the average price of diesel peaking at a record $6.53 per gallon in September, according to AAA.

Congress

James Talarico announces record-breaking $64M haul

Published

6 hours ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Texas Democrat James Talarico raised a staggering $64 million this summer — the largest third-quarter haul of any Senate candidate in history.

The national Democratic darling raised more than $134.3 million since launching his campaign in September of 2025, according to figures shared first with Blue Light News. More than 1.3 million donors contributed, the campaign said, as Democrats slowly reconcile themselves to their long-held but often fumbled dream of gaining a statewide perch in Texas. About 97% of those donations were of $100 or less.

“Grassroots contributors from across Texas are coming together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for working families,” Talarico said in a statement shared first with Blue Light News.

The announcement is a bright spot in an otherwise rough few days, with Talarico reemerging on the trail after being out for more than a week with the flu.

But Texas is an expensive state to run in, and Republicans are taking his campaign seriously. Talarico already had some $235 million spent against him as national Republicans scramble to hold the seat and boost Ken Paxton. Texas has emerged as a money pit for Republicans following a divisive GOP primary that saw Paxton, the controversial state attorney general, vanquish incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn, a favorite of the party establishment.

Talarico faces a wall of GOP money in the final days of the race.

“He’s fighting this battle basically alone while Elon Musk and the full weight of the GOP fundraising apparatus outspends him 2:1. This is still an uphill battle,” said a Democratic strategist doing work in Texas, granted anonymity to candidly discuss Talarico’s disadvantages.

In his 2018 Texas Senate run, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke raised a record $38.1 million in the third quarter, and South Carolina Democrat Jaime Harrison eclipsed that amount with a $57 million third quarter in 2020.