Trump’s AI isolation

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Progressive's accident response can contact emergency services if you're in a major accident. The only thing worse than someone you love being in an accident is not being able to help them. So Progressive is here to help when you can't. So get peace of mind knowing your loved ones are protected with Progressive's accident response. Learn more at progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, limited availability in California. Driver is responsible for emergency and towing charges not covered by the policy, coverage subject to policy terms and conditions.

Brendan Bordelon (0:33)

Hello, and welcome to Decoded by POLITICO. I'm Brendan Bordelon.

Calder McHugh (0:37)

And I'm Calder McHugh. Today on the show, we'll discuss how President Donald Trump might approach AI policy with the Democratic majority in Congress. Plus, who in the AI space is feeling good after the midterm elections, and who is maybe less excited about the upcoming changes in Congress.

Brendan, I've missed you since I've been down here in DC. What were you up to on election night?

Brendan Bordelon (0:59)

Yeah, kind of a weird turn of events. I was on an airplane headed back from the Bay Area to Washington, DC. It was a family vacation, friends reunion, kind of strangely timed. I was furiously refreshing my airplane Wi-Fi, checking the midterm results, and obviously just soaking it all up late last night. And it was on early this morning to capture some of the remaining results. So yeah, yeah, happy to be back.

Calder McHugh (1:24)

Yes, we're very pleased to have you. The airplane Wi-Fi midterm situation, I don't really wish on my worst enemy, so.

Brendan Bordelon (1:30)

I was having a good time, honestly. Yeah, it was fun.

Calder McHugh (1:33)

Well, it's gotten better. I feel like the Wi-Fi has gotten better on those planes. I'd love to start the episode today with a bit of a look back. President Trump has dominated AI policy in his second term.

Can you remind our listeners what exactly that approach to AI has been?

Brendan Bordelon (1:48)

Yeah. So basically, ever since the president took office in January of 2025, he has kind of been the Alpha and Omega of AI policy in Washington. Republicans on Capitol Hill have looked to the White House for guidance. Things have swung quite dramatically from last summer, when the White House and Republicans in Congress were looking to block all state AI regulation, just a blanket preemption on all rules regarding AI by the various states, into this year, where the White House took a pretty aggressive approach on AI safety, a very ad hoc approach, really virtually no input from Congress. This has sort of been the Trump show for the last two years when it comes to AI policy. And I think in the wake of the midterm results we've seen, that is likely to change pretty dramatically now that Democrats are going to be sweeping into power in both chambers with sizable majorities.

Calder McHugh (2:36)

Yeah, I mean, certainly there has been some Republican grumbling about his AI policy throughout the last couple of years. To your point, not really any way to change it.

Now, in January, we're going to have a new Congress that will be really ready to start to think about some of these questions. Specifically, how do you think that approach might change now that Congress has changed hands from the White House?

Brendan Bordelon (3:04)

I think Trump has largely been on an island when it comes to AI policy for some time now. I think even within his own administration, there are folks who are very concerned about the security risks posed by this technology and have looked to in some ways rein in or ameliorate those risks. But the president himself has been talking about AI safety as a hoax. He's been calling any efforts to regulate it a sort of globalist scheme. And I think that has largely been overshadowed by the fact that Republicans on Capitol Hill are willing to give him a pass to basically do and say what he wants when it comes to regulating this technology. I think that's going to change quite dramatically now that Democrats are going to be taking over in such a big way. I think they're going to be pressuring the president quite regularly on this. Our colleagues talked to some folks today who feel like in the wake of these results, voters are clamoring for some sort of response to the AI safety concerns. And the president is going to have to either respond to that in kind or veto any sort of legislation that I think folks expect to come down the pipe in the next year.