Brendan Bordelon

The artificial intelligence industry’s push for tech-friendly federal legislation is foundering in Washington. So OpenAI’s top lobbyist and political strategist is pursuing a backup strategy—setting national AI policy by waging a state-by-state campaign. Chris Lehane calls the plan “reverse federalism”: With Capitol Hill deadlocked, the company behind ChatGPT is increasingly spending its time lobbying for state legislatures to pass laws on AI safety that the industry can live with.

President Donald Trump wants Congress to help the artificial intelligence industry by passing a law that blocks state efforts to regulate the technology. But his latest plan is getting a frosty reception on Capitol Hill. The President recently unveiled a proposal urging Congress to enact legislation that would preempt state AI laws. Unlike previous attempts by Republicans to block state rules, the plan also includes guardrails on how the technology affects electricity costs, kids safety, free speech and copyright.

The tech industry is facing fierce local backlash to data center projects around the country. But a new poll suggests national opinion is still up for grabs.

Things are about to get uncomfortable in Washington for Google. Top Republicans in Congress are leaning hard on the tech giant to make its content policies friendlier to the GOP, after winning that fight with social media companies Meta and X. Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) are now putting pressure on Google and its parent company Alphabet, which owns both the internet’s dominant search engine and the popular YouTube video platform.

Less than two weeks before the start of a landmark antitrust trial against tech giant Meta, the growing relationship between President Donald Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is stoking fears in Washington (D.C.) that the White House could pull the plug on the whole case.

A Christmas Day social media brawl between President-elect Donald Trump’s backers in Silicon Valley and the MAGA base highlighted the looming battle facing the incoming White House and Congress over high-skilled immigration. Early conversations are already taking place on Capitol Hill, where Republican lawmakers are openly mulling new plans to boost numbers of high-tech immigrants as Elon Musk and other tech billionaires—including many who have named skilled immigration a priority—flex their expanding influence on Trump and the GOP.

From a tight Senate race in Arizona to congressional contests in Texas and Illinois, Democratic candidates are wrapping their arms around Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. But one candidate is keeping Khan at arm’s length. Vice President Kamala Harris has declined to appear with Khan or campaign on her energetic antitrust agenda — much less defend the FTC chair against a chorus of Silicon Valley donors calling for her head, or Khan’s GOP critics on Capitol Hill.

On the surface, the apologetic letter Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent to congressional Republicans on Monday looks like a capitulation in the long-simmering political wars<

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr called publicly for the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the nonprofit Crisis Text Line (CTL) over the suicide hotline’s former data-sharing practices with for-profit spinoff Loris.ai.

President Biden has yet to announce his pick for inspector general for the Federal Communications Commission. That position, which is meant to audit FCC spending and investigate potential fraud and abuse, is set to assume new significance, with billions of dollars in pandemic relief and infrastructure cash now flowing into the agency.