Today’s notice: Congress returns to perhaps, maybe address AI. Sen. Mark Kelly hits the campaign trail. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s non-gubernatorial campaign fundraising. What’s next for “Pod Save America”? And: the Trumps’ crypto moves.
THE LATEST
Congress returns to Washington today to face reality on artificial intelligence. The snowballing worry from outside critics, inside developers and AI CEOs appears to put the issue on an emergency, red-alert level for lawmakers to do something to avoid the threat of rogue agents. There’s nothing like the head of Anthropic warning of the risks of cyberattacks, bioterrorism and serious economic disruption to spur Congress into action, right?
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) plans to convene his colleagues Wednesday for a briefing on the “extraordinary dangers” of AI. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said AI will be a high priority for Democrats in their weekly caucus huddle. So, yes, you can expect a lot of talk from Washington about AI.
Trending
“We have to resist Congress jumping in and imposing some sort of emergency moratorium. It’s got to be done right, safely, wisely,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Donald Trump, too, said yesterday he doesn’t want to curtail AI development, especially in the race against China, because “whoever wins AI wins.” (Oh, and he told reporters on Air Force One that he uses AI but not how he uses it: “I don’t want to tell you that.”)
Keep an eye out this week for remarks from two top industry executives who say it’s time to “pace the frontier.” Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speak Tuesday at Salesforce’s tech forum. Trump’s former AI czar David Sacks, who’s put the onus on the companies to rein this in, is also speaking at Politico’s Decoded Summit.
With 50 days until the midterms, expect this issue to ratchet up with voters, just like data centers are now squarely in the campaign sights. Barack Obama said recently that Democrats should map out how the party will tame AI’s risks should they retake the majority, The New York Times reported, and he pushed prospective 2028 candidates to make it a central campaign issue.
Given Congress’ penchant for can-kicking, we asked Claude, in its own estimation, will Congress take action on AI? “My honest guess: incremental, sector-specific stuff limps forward; the comprehensive framework gets kicked to 2027 regardless of who controls Congress,” Claude told us. OK, then.
More: Trump Says He Doesn’t Care if Voters See this Election as a Referendum on Him • Johnson Says Trump Needs ‘Congress to Act’ on His $5,000 Checks • Wisconsin Congressman Tearfully Recounts Surviving Emergency Plane Landing • What to Know About D.C. Council Member Trayon White’s Bribery Trial
Open tabs:
National Security Agency launches historic restructuring (WaPo)
Trespasser stopped at Kamala Harris’ Malibu property (Politico)
Pennsylvania woman dies from measles complications, state’s third death (NBC)
Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday, warns of bankruptcy (WaPo)
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Sen. Mark Kelly’s road trip: The Arizona Democrat, who is not yet running for president, will travel to Michigan and South Carolina next month to campaign for his party’s candidates, and that’s on top of stumping in 15 states in the last year. “All of us need to be out there and do whatever we possibly can to help candidates get across the finish line,” Kelly told The Washington Sun’s Alex Roarty.
The aggressive campaign schedule nonetheless serves a dual purpose, Alex writes, helping Democrats this year while signaling to potential donors, activists and voters that the senator can effectively campaign in red states and districts, winning over the kinds of voters any Democratic presidential nominee would need in a general election. Kelly said he’ll consider a presidential bid after the midterms.
“These emails won’t stop until we get an answer.” Those are the type of incessant fundraising missives, many replete with false urgency and high pressure, sent by Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s campaign, which has raised more than $9 million so far this cycle. But the Tennessee Republican isn’t running for reelection, she’s vying for governor — and federal contributions can’t be directly used for state-based campaigns.
But some of that money is still wending its way toward her gubernatorial campaign, The Sun’s Dave Levinthal reports. Federal and state campaign finance records indicate the senator’s federal joint fundraising committee, the Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund, is helping seed a network of conservative Club for Growth super PACs with millions of dollars. And one of the network’s PACs is now spending millions of dollars to boost Blackburn’s gubernatorial campaign.
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
The challenge in selling the economy: Former Biden officials told The Sun’s Jade Lozada that Trump is experiencing some of the same challenges on economic messaging that plagued his predecessor. Tonantzin Carmona, who served as Joe Biden’s special assistant for economic policy on the National Economic Council, said there was a “genuine disconnect” between improving economic indicators under Biden and Americans’ continued experience with rising prices.
Trump and his market messengers, like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, are “trying to find some talking point on inflation and future price increases,” while what voters are more “upset about is the price level that they are experiencing right now,” said Sameera Fazili, the former deputy director of Biden’s National Economic Council.
THE BIG ONE
What is “Pod Save America” up to? What was once a mainstream, often milquetoast liberal media platform that was criticized for being too beholden to the ever-amorphous party “establishment” now reflects the party’s existential woes, The Sun’s Emily Kennard writes.
With the 2028 cycle looming, the podcast now plays host to the fights inside the Democratic Party that could help define the forthcoming primary. The hosts’ positions within the ongoing intraparty war are hard to pin down, Emily writes, though former Obama adviser Tommy Vietor tells her, “I don’t know that the current DNC leadership is the biggest fan of our show.”
The establishment wing isn’t such a big fan, either. “I’ve watched lots of ‘Pod Save’ where they’re critiquing the current Democratic Party and the Democratic establishment, and I just think: ‘Didn’t you help construct this for eight consecutive years?’” said Third Way’s Yemisi Egbewole.
NEW ON THE WASHINGTON SUN
Cashing out on crypto? Trump and his three sons are taking steps that would allow them to cash out the digital “tokens” created by their family’s crypto firm, The Sun’s Jeff Stein scoops. While the change in holdings does not definitely mean that they are looking to sell their tokens, the new contract kicks off a two-year waiting period — and a lot of concerns around conflict of interest, too.
“It has never been clear what World Liberty Financial was supposed to do other than enrich the Trumps, and here we have them taking the first avenue they can to offload their coins,” Zach Everson, research director at Public Citizen, told Jeff.
A lawyer representing the Trump firm World Liberty Financial told Jeff that the “premise of your questions is misguided,” and a spokesperson said “there are no imminent sales.”
More: Federal Judge Says DHS Acted ‘Capriciously’ When Halving FEMA’s Staff • Burgum’s Arch Excavation Announcement Stirs Additional Legal Tensions • Immigration Group Sues Trump Admin Over Maryland Arrests
NOT US
How Your Mail Carrier Ended Up at the Center of the Midterms Battle, by Louise Radnofky and Esther Fung for The Wall Street Journal
The new threat election officials fear: Trump’s federal government, by Patrick Marley and Laura Meckler for The Washington Post
Trump’s Secret Points System for Cabinet Members, by Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer for The Atlantic
WEEK AHEAD
Today
The Senate and the House return to session.
JD Vance visits Missouri for a Fraud Task Force press conference before heading to Kansas for a MAGA Inc. campaign event.
Tuesday
Primary elections in Delaware.
FBI Director Kash Patel appears in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears in front of the House Financial Services Committee.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speak at a Salesforce conference.
Wednesday
Trump campaigns with North Carolina Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley.
The Federal Reserve makes a decision on interest rates.
Friday
Hearing in a lawsuit over the “anti-weaponization fund” in federal court in Virginia.
Early in-person voting begins in Virginia for November’s elections.
Thank you for reading! If you liked this edition of The Washington Sun Newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please sign up — it’s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@washsun.com. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@washsun.com.
The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr, Gaby Morera Di Núbila and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Patrick Sison/AP.
Authors
