Congress in the dark on Trump’s AI Force announcement

Por Katherine Long, Gabby Miller and Owen Dahlkamp — POLITICO – TOP Stories

Lawmakers were largely blindsided by President Donald Trump’s weekend announcement that he’s creating an artificial intelligence task force and appointing a new czar, exposing a growing rift between the White House and Capitol Hill on their visions for AI regulation.

Several key Republicans were not read in on the details prior to Trump’s announcement on Truth Social on Saturday, according to two GOP aides granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The rebuff marks another instance in which the president has sidelined lawmakers in his own party as he seeks to address fears the technology could disrupt the economy and workforce.

The lack of coordination with Capitol Hill has echoes of Trump’s recent announcement of $5,000 “dividend” checks for Americans, which he announced at the GOP’s recent midterm convention without briefing congressional leaders first. Many Republican lawmakers have given the trillion-dollar idea frosty reviews.

The lack of outreach also mirrored dynamics with the tech industry, which was not broadly read in ahead of time.

“What I know about it is what you all have reported on,” Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, a senior Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters Monday. He said he believes many recent concerns about AI have been “overdramatized” but recognizes it’s a big concern for Americans that Washington must address if it wants to win the race for global tech supremacy.

The president’s top-down approach to the GOP’s tech agenda could thwart congressional Republicans’ own plans, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) ready major AI legislation intended to mitigate catastrophic risks posed by AI. With limited insight into the plans, many are waiting for more information from the White House.

But Democratic lawmakers, who are hoping to regain power in both chambers this November, are skeptical of the president’s motives.

“If this is the president waking up, realizing that AI risks aren’t a hoax, and is taking concrete action to protect America, then great,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) told POLITICO. “If this is just a PR diversion and an attempt to protect his family’s investments, then I have a massive problem.”

“As is often the case, we haven’t been briefed,” he added — a familiar dynamic for Democrats, who have repeatedly expressed frustration over the White House’s partisan approach to AI policy.

A Democratic Hill staffer pointed to the Trump administration’s previous attempts to bring federal oversight of the technology — including doling out sweeping directives that have landed on the Hill with a thud or stalled entirely — as a reason to remain skeptical of any meaningful AI policy flowing out of the White House’s new “task force.”

Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), the co-sponsor of a bipartisan AI safety framework, is open to creating a separate federal body to oversee AI, though with Congress’ approval, she said Sunday on CNN. “The president just talking about an AI force without any sort of durable strategy on how to do that through congressional authorization feels more like a delay tactic.”

Trump’s post signaled a desire to monitor AI systems, a move that appears to be a concession to those calling for regulation of the sector. But he envisions any form of oversight being run by existing regulatory bodies.

The president is also doubling down on his claims that the AI panic is overblown, in the same post calling fears around AI one of many “hoaxes” perpetuated by “Radical Left Dumocrats, for purposes of destroying our Country.”

A spokesperson for the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The president reiterated those claims in another Truth Social post Monday and said that AI innovation remains the top priority for the administration.

“We are leading now over China, and everyone else, and I’m going to keep it that way! I’m not going to stifle Growth, of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, or the Internet, itself,” Trump wrote. The post made no mention of the proposed government AI task force or the appointment of a new AI czar.

Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories