Politics

Trump Opposed Placing Guardrails On AI Amid Tech Industry’s Fears. Here’s What Lawmakers Had To Say

Screen Capture/Architect of the Capitol

Lawmakers had mixed reactions to President Donald Trump Monday after he opposed placing guardrails on artificial intelligence (AI), with some agreeing that the U.S. is at major risk because of China.

Trump said that top tech leaders’ warnings about AI development needing to slow down was a “sick conspiracy” against AI and data centers, arguing the only guardrails needed are a “strong and smart president.” Many lawmakers told the Daily Caller News Foundation they supported guardrails, while others agreed with Trump.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told the DCNF and others Monday that he supports placing guardrails on AI, indicating a clear break from Trump.

“Obviously, there’s responsibility for the companies to do that when it comes to you know the frontier on some of these models,” Thune said. “But I also think that there is a way in which Congress can put guardrails around those types of more consequential threats, without in any way harming our ability to stay ahead in the AI race, which I think is also I think is very important.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Trump was correct in pointing out that the U.S. is competing against China on AI.

“Well, the president is correct in saying that this is a race between the United States and China, and America has got to win,” Scalise told the DCNF. “It’s not surprising that Anthropic of all people is calling for a heavy regulatory structure because they want to crush their competitors, the next start up, the next company that’s going to be the future tech company would be crushed if you had heavy regulations. Now, obviously, there’s laws on the books that say these companies not only have a moral responsibility to be responsible, they have a legal responsibility. You can’t create a product that’s going to kill people, and if they’re doing that, then they’re going to have serious problems.”

“The only control or “guardrails” that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “The Trump Administration has stopped AI “people” from doing bad, or potentially bad, “things,“ like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a “perfect little angel” – and we will continue to do so! We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies! There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!”

“If he’s gonna regulate it, that’s one thing. But then you get the next president in, then he can just erase it,” Burchett said. “So if he wants to make executive orders and then we codify them, I think that can be a wise decision.”

“That’s a hard one,” Tuberville told the DCNF. “Because, you know, we”ll eventually have to have some [guardrails], just like the internet. We had to figure out what it was about, how to handle it. But you know, right now, we just need to make sure we do the right thing and understand it’s already here. It’s not going anywhere.”

Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno told the DCNF that Trump is concerned about “irrational fears” destroying the AI industry.

“What [Trump] doesn’t want is he doesn’t want our AI industry destroyed because of irrational fears. There are obviously concerns,” Moreno said. “If there’s people like Anthropic that have concerns, then why are they doing an IPO? Think about that. Like, if Dario is so concerned about the very technologies he’s creating, why is he doing an IPO? He should, in fact, just shut down his entire company if he’s so concerned about what he’s creating. The reality is that’s an alarmist point of view.”

“This is a country of pioneers, explorers and discoverers, and we should never lose that action,” Moreno continued.

Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds’ office told the DCNF that Donalds believes safeguards around AI should be put in place.

“Byron Donalds has made his position clear: he believes that states should lead on creating safeguards around AI to ensure that its growth is managed responsibly,” Donalds’ office told the DCNF.

A top researcher at Anthropic warned Wednesday there was more than a 10% chance AI “would kill all humans” within the next decade. These warnings sparked debates among lawmakers on how to regulate AI, with some wanting strong regulations.

Speaker Mike Johnson appeared more willing than Trump to place guardrails on AI, although he expressed concern about Congress putting restrictions in place that “smothers innovation.” He also opposed an emergency pause and agreed with Trump on concerns relating to China.

“One of the first things I did [as speaker] was put together an AI task force in the House, a bipartisan group with an equal number of members on both sides of the aisle that worked deliberately over a long period of time to, to debate and deliberate and research what the best way there is to go to put guardrails, some safety in place to make sure that AI doesn’t get out of control,” Johnson said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Now, here’s the thing. At the same time, there is an obvious corporate responsibility that the people who are creating these models have to ensure that their products are safe.”

“I think the leaders and the providers of all these platforms, the, the guys you named and a few others, there’s about seven or eight people who are in charge of this,” Johnson continued. “They need to come together in a meeting with us and sit down and figure out what the right balance is. We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us. And that’s the challenge. It’s national security balance with the immediate security of making sure the models are safe.”

Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott held a similar view to Johnson, arguing on X that while the development of AI must slow down, Congress must address the threat posed by China.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during a Monday press conference that threats posed by AI warranted “decisive congressional action immediately.” He said on Sirius XM’s “The Mike Muse Show” that Congress must move “urgently” to place guardrails on AI.

“Well, I think we have to move urgently on this issue with a framework that recognizes the importance of allowing American companies and entrepreneurs to continue to lead in this space while putting in place guardrails to protect the American people from bad actors and bad behavior and, God forbid, damage that can be done to the American people. And it should be a high priority.”

Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy hadn’t yet reached a conclusion on how the government should respond to the matter, though he expressed concern about the tech industry’s warnings.

“I don’t know what the proper role of government is here,” Roy told Politico. “The Big Tech bros need better answers if they want us just to all say, “oh yeah, just let the market figure it out.” Well, then give me my answers. So far the Big Tech bros’ answer has been: “but China.” And “but China” is not a policy prescription. It’s a fear mechanism.”

“I do not believe ‘we’re going to shut it all down’ is either plausible or the best solution. I do think we must have some degree of guardrails and that the same laws and rules that apply to humans are going to have to apply to a world of AI, and there are other existential questions that have to be raised,” Roy said.

Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie mocked Trump’s support for AI data centers.

“New directive from the leader: MAGA is required to support all Data Centers, no questions asked,” Massie said in an Aug. 31 tweet.

Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace agreed with Trump, telling NewsNation Monday that China will dominate the U.S. if guardrails are placed.

“If we pause AI development, then China will eat our lunch and the president is right, whoever wins AI wins,” Mace said. “The number one thing that is not being spoken about by any of these CEOs or anybody in the government or anybody out there talking about AI and doomsday is that what do we do when singularity happens, when technological singularity happens? Meaning when AI can autonomously create AI, then what do we do? And who gets to it first? Because it’s coming. Is it days, is it weeks, is it months, is it years?”

“And if China beats us to singularity, then I think all bets are off because if we hit pause here in the United States, or if we hit pause in Europe and in the EU, who’s gonna hit pause on China? They want world domination, they are not going to hit pause,” Mace continued.

Some lawmakers were planning to put forth legislation to address AI concerns. Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna announced they were working on legislation to ensure there is a “human interface and a kill switch.”

“AI is now becoming a national security threat that we can no longer ignore,” Luna said.

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Texas Rep. Greg Casar introduced the Ban Artificial Superintellience Act on Sept. 3 to ban companies from developing AI technologies humans cannot control.

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said Monday he would introduce legislation to require all AI models to have a kill switch.