Artificial intelligence, or AI, has become a political problem for Republicans eleven days before the midterm election. Recent reporting shows GOP lawmakers divided from President Trump on how to handle the technology, and voters uneasy about it. We could not confirm a report that people close to the White House want AI executives to stay quiet, so this brief covers what is on the record.
Republicans break with Trump
MS NOW spoke with more than a dozen Republican lawmakers in September. Many said they have serious concerns about AI, and most agreed that Trump's position should not be the party's position 2. Trump had written on Truth Social that AI worries are a "hoax" 2.
Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota called Trump's stance on regulation "the least popular position in America." 2 Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said: "It's not a hoax. It's a real thing." 2
It's not a hoax. It's a real thing.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who is in a tough race this fall, went further. He said of Trump speaking about AI: "This is one I don't think he should speak out on a lot right now." 2
From Channel GOPObama: Republicans would never accept banning Fox NewsBarack Obama · 134 plays · captioned, with the source named
Speaker Mike Johnson sided with Trump, saying Congress should stay out of the issue 2. The House left on a Wednesday in September, a day early, and is not expected back until after the November elections 2.
Voters are wary, and industry money is flowing
A September Politico poll found 63% of Americans believe AI poses at least a moderate risk of destroying humanity 1. An August Annenberg survey found 61% opposed a new data center in their area, 12 points higher than earlier in the year 1. Data centers are the large buildings that house the computers that run AI.
Eleven large tech and AI companies and trade groups spent $41.8 million lobbying the federal government in the first six months of 2026, about 10% more than a year earlier, according to the group Issue One 1. More than $27 million from groups tied to OpenAI and Anthropic went into one Democratic House primary in Manhattan this spring 1.
Newsweek's scorecard of all 537 members of Congress found Republicans lean toward backing AI, averaging 3.26 on a five-point scale. Democrats averaged 2.60. The widest gap was on data centers 1.
What happens next
A bill by Rep. Gabe Evans, a Colorado Republican, would make tech companies pay for the energy systems that serve data centers. It passed the House 417-3 on Sept. 16 but had not advanced in the Senate as of Newsweek's report 1. The same day, Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, tried to fast-track a bill requiring shutdown mechanisms in advanced AI, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky blocked it 1.
Sens. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, have introduced a bipartisan bill that would create a Department of Energy program to evaluate advanced AI systems 2. Congress is largely out of session until after the election, so no law is likely before Nov. 3 2.
That matters because the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress is split on a technology many voters distrust. Tech lobbying money is rising at the same time. The pattern is a party trying to answer voter worry without crossing its president or a well-funded industry.
The Record
Sources
- Newsweek, “How AI upended politics and left lawmakers scrambling to pick a side” (2026-10-24). newsweek.com/how-ai-upended-politics-and-left-lawmakers-scra
- MS NOW, “'The least popular position in America': Even GOP lawmakers think Trump has it wrong on AI” (2026-09-18). ms.now/news/gop-lawmakers-trump-wrong-ai
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