According to three sources familiar with internal GOP discussions, Trump White House aides now see almost no path to Republicans retaining the House in the midterms and are concentrating resources on protecting the Senate majority instead. The Congressional Leadership Fund has already pulled ad buys in contested districts in Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, New Jersey and Iowa, signaling a retreat from races once considered flippable.
wired.com
· 2026-10-14
House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNBC ahead of a Washington meeting with AI executives and President Trump that he prefers voluntary safety guardrails over mandatory regulation. He said he expects industry to move toward self-imposed safety measures to reassure investors and the public. Congress has yet to pass AI legislation and is set to leave Washington until after November's election.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-29
The House of Representatives left Washington on Wednesday, effectively delaying any legislative response to mounting warnings about artificial intelligence risks until after the November midterms. Speaker Mike Johnson canceled planned Thursday work, telling reporters lawmakers needed to return home to campaign, and pointed to the Senate to take up any AI legislation instead. The move comes despite pleas from executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI for federal oversight after an Anthropic researcher's resignation warning about AI's existential dangers.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-17
After Anthropic's Dario Amodei called for pacing AI progress and got public backing from Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Demis Hassabis, President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected the idea. Trump told the Financial Times the US must keep leading China in AI, while Johnson warned on CNN that rushed regulation could pose a national security risk.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-13