Though votes are still being counted, the verdict appears to be clear. Donald Trump won. So, now what? Surprisingly, that question has a few easy answers—as well as a few that are less clear. First things first. Historically, the party in power has held a 3-2 majority at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), allowing them to carry out the president’s policy agenda. Traditionally, the sitting chair has stepped down, allowing the President to pick a new FCC chief. So, with Trump in the White House, that means the FCC will be Republican-led and likely by sitting Commissioner Brendan Carr. Though Trump hasn’t specified his choice for FCC chair, Carr is the most senior Republican on the Commission and analysts have singled him out as the probable pick. Carr also happens to have authored a chapter in the Project 2025 policy proposal outlining the conservative take on what the future of the FCC should look like under the next Republican President. Highlights of his chapter include calls to rein in Big Tech via the elimination of Section 230 protections internet companies currently enjoy; to force internet companies to contribute to the Universal Service Fund (USF); to expand the list of companies which are deemed to pose a security risk to the U.S.; and to fully fund the Rip and Replace program to swap out suspect telecommunications equipment.

Former President Donald Trump will return to the White House, bringing his retrofuturistic, tech-friendly, pro-industrial vision for America’s future with him. (Oh, and Elon Musk is coming, too.) The cadre of right-wing Silicon Valley thinkers and activists who threw in with Trump have been vindicated, and there’s evidence that “mainstream” tech is falling in line too: Jeff Bezos sent “Big congratulations” to Trump on X, wishing him “all success in leading and uniting the America we all love,” and Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Threads that he’s “Looking forward to working with you and your administration.” It is, of course, good business sense to make nice with the President of the United States who will be responsible for regulating your products. But tech’s immediate eagerness to engage with Trump this time around—especially in contrast with the anguish following his first win—also points to a shared understanding that a Musk-influenced Trump administration could take a big step back from President Joe Biden’s more active regulatory approach, giving industry a freer hand to shape the digital future.

The red wave that swept Donald Trump to re-election did not, despite what some podcasters might claim, originate in Silicon Valley. In San Francisco, rank-and-file tech workers still largely vote for Democrats. And while some prominent tech leaders came out in support of Trump—most notably, Elon Musk and a cluster of right-wing executives and venture capitalists who bankrolled his campaign—many others either supported Kamala Harris or parked themselves comfortably on the sidelines. But whether they voted for Trump or not, nearly everyone in tech will feel the consequences of a second Trump term, from social media companies to crypto investors to the companies trying to build next-generation artificial intelligence systems. Trump’s first term was wild and unpredictable, creating a noisy day-to-day business environment that even the biggest tech companies struggled to navigate. It’s likely that more chaos and uncertainty lie ahead.

Early on November 6, Donald Trump became the presumptive winner of the 2024 US presidential election, setting the stage for dramatic changes to federal artificial intelligence policy when he takes office early next year. Among them, Trump has stated he plans to dismantle President Biden's AI Executive Order from October 2023 immediately upon taking office. Biden's order established wide-ranging oversight of AI development. Among its core provisions, the order established the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and lays out requirements for companies to submit reports about AI training methodologies and security measures, including vulnerability testing data. The order also directed the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop guidance to help companies identify and fix flaws in their AI models. Trump supporters in the US government have criticized the measures. Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) warned that reporting requirements could discourage innovation and prevent developments like ChatGPT. And Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) characterized NIST's AI safety standards as an attempt to control speech through "woke" safety requirements. With that kind of opposition, the future of the existing Biden-originated AI regulation programs remains unclear.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson issued a statement on the election results, congratulating President-Elect Trump and touching on electric cooperative policy priorities: 

• Safeguarding Electric Reliability. Protecting the electric grid from increasing threats to reliability, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Power Plant Rule.

• Reforming Federal Permitting. Modernizing and streamlining the federal permitting and siting process in a manner that eliminates excessive regulatory burdens and ensures more predictable and timely decisions from federal agencies.

• Enhancing Wildfire Protection. Passage of legislation such as the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 8790) that includes crucial improvements to grid hardening and wildfire mitigation procedures that will help co-ops better address wildfire hazards on utility rights-of-way.

• Protecting the Lower Snake River Dams. Preserving the Lower Snake River dams, which provide a critical source of reliable and affordable carbon-free electricity in the Pacific Northwest.

• Defending Direct Pay. Maintaining direct pay tax credits, which provide direct federal payments to electric co-ops when they deploy new energy technologies, including carbon capture, nuclear, energy storage, renewables and more.

• Maintaining New ERA Funding. Protecting funding for innovative energy projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Empowering Rural America (“New ERA”) Program.

• Promoting Infrastructure Modernization. Improving the nation’s electric infrastructure, including transmission facilities critical to maintaining a reliable electric grid.

• Deploying Rural Broadband. Delivering quality, affordable broadband to rural communities through programs such as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.