Protesters Disrupt House Markup of Budget Bill Addressing Spectrum, AI

Protesters were forcibly removed from a heated House Commerce Committee hearing as lawmakers began marking up their portion of the reconciliation budget bill, which includes sweeping provisions on artificial intelligence regulation and spectrum policy. While the markup was dominated by partisan clashes over proposed Medicaid cuts, controversial communications measures that would block state and local governments from regulating AI systems until 2035 and reauthorize the FCC’s expired spectrum auction authority went largely unaddressed.