{"id":23269,"date":"2026-05-26T08:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T08:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-democrat-who-thinks-she-can-land-an-ai-deal-with-republicans\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T08:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T08:47:19","slug":"the-democrat-who-thinks-she-can-land-an-ai-deal-with-republicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-democrat-who-thinks-she-can-land-an-ai-deal-with-republicans\/","title":{"rendered":"The Democrat who thinks she can land an AI deal with Republicans"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As Democrats struggle to come up with a plan to regulate artificial intelligence, one member of Congress has a high-risk idea: talk to the opposition.<\/p>\n

Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, a four-term lawmaker and member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has been involved in conversations around the emerging technology for some time.<\/p>\n

In the last three weeks, however, Trahan has gotten more serious about clinching a bipartisan accord. That includes meeting privately with Rep. Jay Obernolte of California, a Republican who also serves on the committee and has long held an interest in AI policy and has deep ties to the tech industry.<\/p>\n

Her decision to carve out this partnership without the explicit blessing of her party leaders \u2014 who are instead encouraging a small group of Democrats to pursue a separate, partisan track \u2014 is already raising eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a big difference between putting a stake in the ground on tech, and making it clear that you’re serious on tech, and undermining the caucus’s position on AI,\u201d said a senior congressional Democrat who was granted anonymity to speak candidly due to the sensitive nature of ongoing AI negotiations.<\/p>\n

In an interview last week, Trahan said her engagement was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s not a mystery what I’m fighting for in these conversations,\u201d she said. \u201cSafety is paramount; our kids, our national security, innovation. \u2026 We think the moment requires it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Trahan,<\/p>\n

But Trahan\u2019s gambit is no sure bet. If she can strike a viable agreement with Obernolte, she will have proven that she has the political savvy ideal for an aspiring leader: She\u2019s a co-chair of the House Democratic messaging arm and isn\u2019t ruling out a bid for a promotion in the next Congress. If she can’t clinch a deal \u2014 or worse, if she signs off on something her fellow Democrats think gives too much away \u2014 she could alienate members of her own party in Washington and back home.<\/p>\n

Democrats have been struggling to define<\/a> where they stand on AI for months amid competing priorities. If they move to put more guardrails on AI companies, they could face retaliation from deep-pocketed, pro-AI super PACs. If they let these companies proceed unchecked, progressives warn it could put the party out of step with voters concerned about lost jobs, the energy consumption associated with data centers and infringements on personal privacy.<\/p>\n

Trahan said Democrats can\u2019t afford to wait or retreat: \u201cSuppose there is a catastrophic event or suppose there is a disruption to an employer where people are laid off because you weren’t at the table, we weren’t having these conversations,\u201d she said. \u201cLike, how do I look folks back in the eye and say, \u2018Oh yeah, we were just waiting until we had the gavels.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As she works with Obernotle, Trahan insisted she has sought input from fellow Democrats and received recommendations, but not \u201cpushback.\u201d She added she is approaching discussions with \u201chumility\u201d and considers herself a \u201cteam player\u201d in the caucus.<\/p>\n

Her caucus, however, is consumed with its own deliberations. Rep. Ted Lieu of California, the No. 4 Democratic leader, is helping lead a \u201cHouse Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy,\u201d convened by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.<\/p>\n

With Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Valerie Foushee of North Carolina serving as co-chairs, the commission is currently working to come up with an AI regulatory framework Democrats can own and campaign on ahead of the midterms \u2014 all but spurning conversations with Republicans and distancing themselves from Trahan\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know very little about what she and Obernotle are discussing. I have not been read in,\u201d Lieu said in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019re focused on building a framework for Leader Jeffries before the end of the year on what Democrats should focus on after we flip the House.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rep.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut members can do whatever they want,\u201d he continued. \u201cI haven\u2019t followed [Trahan] \u2014 I literally have no idea what language even looks like or if they\u2019ve even talked about language.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a potentially awkward situation depending on what comes of Trahan\u2019s efforts, Lieu expects to become House Democratic Caucus chair in the next Congress \u2014 and Trahan is one of a handful of members angling for the vice chair slot Lieu now holds.<\/p>\n

Regarding her leadership ambitions, Trahan said that \u201cif there’s an opportunity for me to continue at the leadership table, I would love to have that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeffries, asked about her AI pursuits, said in a brief interview, \u201cI haven\u2019t talked to Lori Trahan about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trahan is also taking a gamble by entering into high-stakes policy talks with a Republican who doesn’t have a great track record of landing deals with Democrats.<\/p>\n

Lieu ran an AI policy task force with Obernolte in the previous Congress, and they introduced legislation earlier this year that would improve standards, invest in workforce development programs and deter harmful deepfakes. That bill has gone nowhere.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) engaged in his own series of talks with Obernolte earlier this year that likewise failed to bear fruit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re all interested in trying to find a framework that makes sense,\u201d Liccardo said in an interview. \u201cJay is open-minded, but he has constraints on his side of the aisle, and it makes it very difficult to find openness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trahan and Obernolte have declined to publicly discuss specific policies that are under consideration in their discussions, with Obernolte not even wanting to divulge he was working with Trahan on anything related to AI: \u201cI am neither confirming or denying that I am talking to her,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

\"Trahan<\/p>\n

Trahan, in contrast, said, \u201cI\u2019ve been very happy to work with Jay. \u2026 I like the way the conversations are progressing, and, you know, I’m hopeful that we can share something soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

They could run into problems. Obernolte has consistently pushed for replacing existing state laws on AI with an overarching federal framework. That\u2019s a more moderate approach than banning states from making their own AI rules without any federal guardrails \u2014 which is favored by GOP leadership<\/a> \u2014 but it remains anathema to many Democrats.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, people familiar with Trahan and Obernolte\u2019s talks said a potential deal would involve preempting<\/a> AI safety laws like those in California and New York that require top AI developers to disclose information about new models to identify security risks.<\/p>\n

That potential trajectory prompted alarm from blue state legislators<\/a>, including in Trahan\u2019s home state, where a data center boom has rattled locals<\/a> worried about job losses, higher energy prices and environmental impacts.<\/p>\n

Last month, Massachusetts State Sen. Michael Moore and State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier wrote to<\/a> Trahan that while they aren\u2019t opposed to a federal framework, they don\u2019t want to undermine existing state laws, such as on data privacy.<\/p>\n

Trahan declined to rule out that state preemption is on the table in her talks with Obernolte but she said her subsequent conversation with Moore and Farley-Bouvier was \u201cproductive,\u201d with the three of them \u201caligned on our values in terms of making sure we hold the line on safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore, in an interview, echoed Trahan\u2019s characterization of their phone call, but added he hadn\u2019t yet seen a draft of her proposal and warned that he didn\u2019t necessarily trust the Trump administration to implement it responsibly.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t Trahan\u2019s first politically fraught policy fight. She recently said she tried to negotiate with Republicans on the so-called SCORE Act, which would among other things preempt a patchwork of state laws governing how student athletes are paid.<\/p>\n

She wanted to help land a bipartisan bill that would level the playing field for everyone \u2014 what she calls her guiding principle in AI talks. But Trahan eventually walked away when GOP leaders decided to pursue a partisan path, culminating in a canceled floor vote on the measure last week.<\/p>\n

As for why she thinks bipartisan AI negotiations might be different, Trahan suggested it could, if nothing else, come down to stamina.<\/p>\n

“The stakes are too high for us to rush it,” she said, “and they’re too high for us to get it wrong.”<\/p>\n

Gabby Miller and Brendan Bordelon contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Democrats struggle to come up with a plan to regulate artificial intelligence, one member of Congress has a high-risk idea: talk to the opposition. Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, a four-term lawmaker and member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has been involved in conversations around the emerging technology for some time. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}