Congress
Ethics watchdog outlines allegations against Georgia Republican’s chief of staff
A nonpartisan Congressional watchdog is alleging that Brandon Phillips, who has served as Rep. Mike Collins’ chief of staff, hired a romantic interest as an office intern and illicitly used his office’s Congressional resources.
The report from the Office of Congressional Conduct, released Monday, also claims the intern “did not perform duties commensurate with her compensation.”
“Based on the foregoing information, the Board finds that there is substantial reason to believe that Mr. Phillips discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges by participating in the retention of an employee with whom Mr. Phillips had a personal relationship,” the report states.
The status of Phillips’ employment with Collins’ office at this point is unclear.
Neither Phillips nor Collins, the Georgia Republican who is currently running for Senate, cooperated with the probe, though Collins’ office, in a statement, disputed the allegations.
“This bogus complaint is a sad attempt to derail one of Georgia’s most effective conservative legislators in Congress,” said a statement from Collins’ office. “Rep. Collins looks forward to providing the House Ethics Committee all factual information and putting these meritless allegations to rest.”
The House Ethics Committee does not comment on ongoing investigations but said it is currently reviewing the allegations against both Collins and Phillips.
The OCC, which fields allegations of misconduct against House members and staff, found evidence the Collins intern was paid thousands of dollars for her duties and appeared to have alternative employment while she remained on the congressional office payroll.
Testimony from individuals who have worked in Collins’ district office said she never “perform[ed] any duties” there, while other people who worked for Collins in Washington said it did not appear that she ever interned for the Capitol Hill office, either.
Some witnesses indicated that they were afraid of potential retaliation from Phillips, according to the OCC; the report cited a Blue Light News story alleging that Phllips kicked a dog.
The report also detailed accusations that Phillips used Congressional funds for “Non-Official Travel-Related Expenses, Including Personal and Campaign-Related Expenses,” but OCC said it could not answer questions definitively about Phillips’ travel without Phillips’ and Collins’ cooperation.
OCC recommended issuing subpoenas to Collins, Philips and the intern, among others.
In a letter published with the report, Russell Duncan, a lawyer for Collins and Phillips, requested that the Ethics Committee vote to dismiss the allegations against his clients. Duncan claimed that the referrals were the result of testimony from “two disgruntled, former members of Congressman Collins staff.”
Duncan also maintained that Phillips’ hiring of the intern was within his discretion, and she “provided valuable assistance to the Office throughout both years regarding communications and other work of the Office.”
President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson will meet at the White House Tuesday with the executives of top artificial intelligence companies, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private plans.
The meeting comes as Congress is coming under increasing pressure to put federal guardrails on AI development, as fears mount that technological advancements could soon spiral beyond human control.
Responding to some warnings that AI development was on track to cause human extinction by the end of the decade, Johnson has said he wants Trump and AI CEOs to “go in a big room, close the door and sort this out.” He has yet to endorse major legislative action to address the issue, as Trump has resisted calls for government regulations, citing concerns about lagging behind China.
The president and speaker were in attendance at the State Dinner on Thursday night in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, as were OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. It was not immediately clear which of these executives would be invited to next week’s meeting, and who will be participating.
News that the meeting had been scheduled was first reported by Axios.
A group of 10 Democrats has signed on to Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Texas) bill that would ban superintelligence and pause advanced AI development until a vetting regime could be stood up.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), both of whom are mulling a 2028 presidential run, are cosponsoring the bill, named the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act.
Khanna, in a statement, noted that he convened a hearing this week on AI safety cooperation between the U.S. and China as ranking member of the House China Select Committee with AI experts who underscored the need for a verifiable pause on superintelligence.
AI superintelligence is an as-yet hypothetical form of the advanced technology that surpasses humans’ cognitive capabilities, but exactly when AI crosses the threshold into superintelligence remains contested. The bill would subject violators to a 20-year prison sentence.
The support from prominent progressives in the Democratic caucus comes as the party is navigating how they would approach AI regulation should they retake control of one or both chambers in November.
Other cosponsors include Reps. Analilia Mejia of New Jersey, Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, Val Hoyle of Oregon, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Chuy García of Illinois, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania and Nydia Velázquez of New York.
“We absolutely have to slow down and regulate the advancement of dangerous AI technologies that have the potential to spiral out-of-control and threaten humanity,” Ansari said.
To Lynch, a string of recent AI-led cyberbreaches has “shown us that the advanced forms of this are out of control,” he said in an interview. “We haven’t really solved that control problem yet, nor have we got the alignment problem right yet.”
Casar’s bill, introduced this week with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is among the most stringent AI regulations proposed by either party.
Rather than focusing on bans as Casar and his progressive allies have done, centrist Democrats are looking to legislative proposals they say can address the technology’s risks without stifling innovation.
Senate Republicans are discussing whether to call up a data center utility costs bill as they make plans to stay in Washington next week rather than beat an early exit before the midterms.
Two GOP aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Senate will remain in town amid pressure from some corners of the party to send members home early to campaign.
Asked if the Senate will stay next week, Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday it’s “looking that way.”
While some lawmakers had hoped to move a long-brewing bipartisan energy permitting deal, those hopes have evaporated, and GOP leaders are instead eyeing votes on the Ratepayer Protection Act — a top priority of endangered Ohio Sen. Jon Husted.
Thune said Thursday moving to the data-center-focused bill next week “is an option.” The Senate is also expected to take up a Democratic resolution condemning the Iran war and several presidential nominations.
The Ratepayer Protection Act easily passed the House earlier this month, but some Senate Democrats are arguing it does not go far enough and party leaders could be motivated to deny Husted a pre-election win.
Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
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