While Congressional Democrats continue to call for scrutiny of the Middle East AI deals announced by President Trump, some Republican Senators have highlighted the oversight role of Congress. The bipartisan leaders of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) requested Commerce expand the role of the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI) to confront the national security threat posed by China’s artificial intelligence advancements.

The House-passed reconciliation bill includes a ten-year prohibition of state legislation on AI regulation. Reconciliation rules are complicated; for a quick and accessible overview, see my Primer on the reconciliation process.  

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Congress

Hearings

• Last week
  • On May 20, the House Science, Space and Technology Environment Subcommittee held a hearing on Innovations in Agrichemicals: AI’s Hidden Formula Driving Efficiency.
  • On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing on AI Regulation and the Future of U.S. Leadership.
  • On May 21, the Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee held a hearing on The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: AI-Generated Deepfakes in 2025.
  • On May 21, the House Natural Resources Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on Unleashing a Golden Age: Examining the Use of Federal Lands to Power American Technological Innovation.
• This week
  • On May 28, the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a field hearing on Innovation Nation: Leveraging Technology to Secure Cyberspace and Streamline Compliance.
• Upcoming
  • On June 5, the House Financial Services Financial Institutions Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Framework for the Future: Reviewing Data Privacy in Today’s Financial System.

Legislation

• The House passed their reconciliation bill, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes a ten-year prohibition on state legislative activity regulating AI. (Text)

• Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Laurel Lee (D-FL) reintroduced the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act) to grant survivors the right to take civil action against individuals who knowingly produce, distribute, solicit and receive or possess with the intent to distribute nonconsensual sexually-explicit digital forgeries. (Text)(Press release)

• House Select Committee on China Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI), Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford (R-AR), and Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Bill Foster (D-IL), and Ted Lieu (D-CA) introduced the Chip Security Act to help prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from smuggling American-manufactured AI chips. (Text)(Press release)

• Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) and Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX) and Deborah Ross (D-NC) introduced the Leadership in Critical and Emergency Technology (CET) Act to require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO to establish a pilot program to expedite the examination of 15,000 patent applications pertaining to certain capabilities in artificial intelligence, semiconductor design, and quantum information science, while preventing foreign entities of concernfrom participating in the program. (Text)(Press release)

Correspondence

• Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Coons (D-DE), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the administration to reconsider the chip deals that President Trump announced with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (Letter)(Press release)

• House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting Commerce expand the role of the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI) to confront the national security threat posed by China’s artificial intelligence advancements. (Letter)(Press release)

Trump Administration

Department of Energy (DOE)

• Berkeley Lab and Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced the development of an accelerated data pipeline called DELERIA, a “new software platform for streaming large amounts of data at very high speeds — from experiment data acquisition to a high-performance computing facility and back — for analysis in near-real-time, interactive timescales.” The project is part of a broader Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science effort intended to connect extensive computational resources to accelerate discovery. (Press release)

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)

• GAO published a report on Artificial Intelligence: Use and Oversight in Financial Services, finding NCUA “does not have two key tools that could aid its oversight of credit unions’ AI use. First, its model risk management guidance is limited in scope and detail and does not provide its staff or credit unions with sufficient detail on how credit unions should manage model risks, including AI models… Second, NCUA lacks the authority to examine technology service providers, despite credit unions’ increasing reliance on them for AI-driven services.” (Report)

Noteworthy Quotes and Events

ADMINISTRATION

Department of Energy (DOE)

• In Congressional testimony, DOE Secretary Chris Wright said, “Our nuclear innovation is a nation that began with the Manhattan Project, and the next Manhattan Project is clearly AI. DOE has a significant role to play in driving AI innovation for scientific discovery and national security. Our agency has world-class, high-performance computing capabilities, including four of the world’s top ten supercomputers. Harnessing our energy potential to power global AI leadership while meeting growing energy demand will be the challenge of our time. But America doesn’t back down from big challenges or big builds.” (Press release)

Department of Commerce

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said about President Trump’s announced Middle East AI deals, “I like the UAE deal… We’ll sell a reasonable amount of chips to our allies, so that our allies can rely and participate in the AI future — not rely on China for that.” (Politico)

CONGRESS

House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing on AI Regulation and the Future of US Leadership

• Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) said, “Our task is to protect our citizens and ensure that we don’t cede U.S. AI leadership. Much of the AI marketplace is comprised of small start-ups looking to get a foothold in this revolutionary space. And heavy-handed regulations may ensure that the next great American company never makes it. If we fail in this task, we risk ceding American leadership in AI to China, which is close on our heels.” (Press release)

• Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-ID) said, “In the face of Chinese progress in emerging technologies, I’m concerned about the US’s ability to maintain its leadership position, if in fact we still have one – I’d like to get your opinion on that – in an AI race. Especially if we were to follow the European approach, which I don’t see us doing, or allow a patchwork of AI rules to develop across the various states.” (Press release)

• Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) said, “As the Chairman of the House AI Task Force last year, and as someone who saw this group of 24 members of Congress from both sides all come together on this issue, it really hurts my heart that it’s being painted as such a divisive, partisan issue because I don’t think it is. You know, the assertions have been made that this was a last-minute thing and ‘in the dead of night.’ I think someone used the phrase ‘it was inserted,’ but I want to talk about the motivation here. It’s been very alarming, as we have seen in the first 5 months of this year go by, the number of bills introduced on the topic of AI regulation in state legislatures across the country. Over 1,000 now have been introduced and this is what’s lending urgency to this issue.” (Press release)

• Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) said, “Artificial intelligence is not just the technology of the future. It is already transforming the way that we live, work, and govern, and it is reshaping nearly every sector of our economy. The question before us is not whether to act, it is how to act wisely. So as policy makers, we have two responsibilities. One is to protect the public from real risks, but second, to ensure that American innovation continues to lead the world. Those goals are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the right policy framework can achieve both, so I appreciate you all being here today to help us strike that balance.” (Press release)

• Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) said, “This Congress we’ve heard from many witnesses over multiple hearings about the significant benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) and the very real harms that artificial intelligence models and applications can and have caused. Unfortunately, in a giant gift to Big Tech, Committee Republicans supported a provision in their GOP Tax scam last week that imposes a 10-year ban on any states’ ability to enforce their own laws protecting consumers from harms caused by AI. I agree with my colleagues that we need strong federal legislation to govern and guide the development of these powerful AI systems as they are rapidly incorporated into more and more aspects of our everyday lives. To protect consumers from the harms of AI we should recommit to working on strong, bipartisan comprehensive federal data privacy legislation that includes data minimization to protect consumers from their personal and sensitive information being abused. Big Tech’s development of new data hungry AI systems, exploiting Americans’ personal information in ways we could not imagine only a few years ago, only makes this need more urgent.” (Remarks)

House Natural Resources Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on Unleashing a Golden Age: Examining the Use of Federal Lands to Power American Technological Innovation.

• In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chair Paul Gosar (R-AZ) said, “Today’s pace of technology, technological advancement is incredible. Almost 60,000 years past between the invention of the bow and arrow and gunpowder time between innovations emerging in emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence and blockchain today is measured in months and even weeks. Undoubtedly, these emerging technologies are rapidly changing how they enter how you how they interact with the world. AI not only takes the form of the generation tools like ChatGPT, but also to detect online financial fraud, improve GPS and navigation and distinguish between valuable poly metal metallic nodules on an ocean floor and sea creatures. Likewise, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are changing the way we do business. These digital assets allow for nearly instant and chief financial transactions, including for things like retail purchases and payroll, and even smart contracts which are self executing written agreements translated into code. Yet as these technologies work to update our lives, their appetite for energy is insatiable. Continues advancements of AI and blockchain means that more people have access to more technologies for more uses. In other words, as emerging technologies improve demand for them grows and so does our need for reliable immense power. Technologies like a one black blockchain in the cloud required data centers to store and process generated data. Without data centers to House large scale computer systems. These technologies cannot function without staggering and increasing energy inputs, data centers become big cannot operate. In 2003, the Berkeley Lab found that 4.4% of the United States total electricity was consumed by data centers. Sam report estimated that by 2028, data centers would require as much as 12% of the total energy production. Given the pace of advancement, this energy needs only to be is only going to need to grow. To meet these needs Committee Natural Resources majority and President Trump have worked tirelessly to implement and all the above approach to energy development and production.”

• Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK) asked questions about AI and digital assets mining.
  • Begich: “Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m going to start by talking a little bit about Alaska. Alaska, as you know, is relatively remote. We’re two and a half times the size of Texas, but only 740,000 people in the entire state. We have hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas that are currently stranded on Alaska’s north slope, and there’s no way no pipeline to get that out presently. We do have some decent conductivity in Alaska and Starlink does extend to Alaska’s north slope. So my question to anyone who’d like to answer on the panel, given Alaska’s remoteness but abundant energy supply, do you believe that remote installations of AI or crypto mining rigs could make sense as a way to tap into America’s stranded energy resources, and also, at the same time advance our AI and crypto mining missions?
  • Paige Lambermont, Research Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute: “I’ll take this one. Thank you, Congressman, for the question. I think that that’s certainly a possibility. I think that colocation is especially beneficial in a situation like that, where you’ve got abundant resources, but are distantly located from infrastructure. The great thing about colocation is that it doesn’t require the same transmission infrastructure, if the place that’s using the energy is right next to the place that’s producing it, it creates great systems there. So there could be opportunities for natural gas plants or for small, modular nuclear in that situation. And I think that whatever the free market determines there will work and it sounds like a situation in which the market might determine it works.”
  • Begich: “That’s, that’s fantastic. And, you know, I couldn’t agree with you more. I think that Alaska, in probably in addition to many other places around our country is well positioned to deliver the energy resources necessary to power the AI revolution, as well as the crypto revolution. One of the things that’s so important as we think about our ability to compete with respect to AI, and many of these other emerging technologies, is that it’s not only the energy that we have to have, we have to have an abundant mineral supply in a domestic supply chain for the minerals necessary for semiconductors. And for the grids for transmission capacity.”

Trump Middle East AI Deals

• Sen. Todd Young (R-ID) said, “They, of course, need to be scrutinized. We want to make sure that our commercial partners are not wittingly or unwittingly leaking technology to our chief commercial and national security competitor.” (Politico)

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said, “There’s certainly an oversight role [for Congress]. The truth is we know that China is going to try to develop a domestic capability if they can’t get access to our chips. It seems like a game of cat and mouse and leapfrog.” (Politico)

• Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said, “I don’t like the fact that the biggest AI center, research center, is going to be in Dubai. I mean, what happened to ‘America First?’ Why don’t we put that center in Pennsylvania or in Ohio?” (Politico)

Miscellaneous

• On receiving over 100 responses to the AI and Energy Working Group RFI, Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) said, “We knew there was growing interest in how to meet AI’s energy demands, but the depth and breadth of these responses exceeded our expectations. We’ve heard from nearly 100 stakeholders, including utilities, data center operators, energy producers, cybersecurity experts, and tech innovators. These companies brought forward smart, specific solutions and even raised important issues we hadn’t fully considered yet. This is exactly why I launched this group: to gather as much information from the experts to help craft an effective legislative framework.” (Press release)

• Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) tweeted, “AI is a critical part of the U.S.’s leadership & economic success. However, there’s a pressing need for thoughtful regulation to ensure it is developed & used responsibly. At the EnergyCommerce, we’re committed to protecting children— & keeping the U.S. ahead in AI innovation.”

• Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) tweeted, “President realDonaldTrump and SecretaryBurgum get it – without increased usage of traditional energy sources like West Virginia coal, we won’t have the baseload electricity capacity to power the AI revolution.”

• Rep. Julia Fedorchak (R-ND) tweeted, “Economic power flows from electric power. This was the take away from our HouseCommerce meeting with elonmusk, which reinforces what I have been saying and focusing on for years. Now, matters are even more urgent. We need to double U.S. power production to win the AI race with China. Musk warns that Americans need to view Advanced AI like a weapon—it is that powerful. Time to get a lot more serious about power generation and energy dominance in America!”

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) tweeted, “China is racing ahead in advanced technology, including in robots, satellites and AI—and in some cases is catching up with the U.S.”

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) tweeted, “AI-enabled scams have become far too common. I spoke at our Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on AI deepfakes about why our laws need to keep up with this quickly evolving technology to protect Americans.”

• Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) tweeted, “In this week’s Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee hearing, we discussed emerging issues in artificial intelligence technology and the work that must be done to ensure harness the potential of this transformative technology. Burdensome and conflicting AI legislation stifles innovation and undermines the success of entrepreneurs. Europe is seeing the effects of their heavy-handed regulations, as they continue to fall further behind on cutting-edge technologies. We look forward to considering a pro-innovation agenda that encourages the development and deployment of AI at scale at home and supports U.S. AI leadership abroad.”

• Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) tweeted, “China’s aggression threatens global stability. Restoring deterrence means: – Modernizing our military in terms of AI and hypersonics – Boosting our naval presence in the Indo-Pacific – Improving our cyber defenses This is how the US stands up to Communist China.”

• Fallon also tweeted, “I am proud to introduce the Protecting AI and Cloud Competition Act of 2025. This bill curbs big tech’s grip on DoD AI and cloud contracts, strengthens our national security, & ensures fair competition for innovative businesses driving our defenses.”

• Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) tweeted, “We are in an AI arms race with China. For the sake of our national security, we must not lose. Thank you to ElonMusk for coming to the HouseCommerce breakfast this morning to discuss the importance of American leadership in AI.”

• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted, “’Models give longer answers to those they believe are men than to those they think are women.’ Fascinating, scary article about how AI language models create and perpetuate stereotypes.”

• Murphy also tweeted, “AI job displacement is coming fast. ‘The unemployment rate for college grads has risen 30 percent since September 2022, compared with about 18 percent for all workers.’”

• Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) tweeted, “Great to see elonmusk this morning during our weekly HouseCommerce breakfast! Thank you for spending some time speaking about AI, emerging tech, and increasing our competitiveness with China.”

• Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) tweeted, “House Republicans are trying to hand Big Tech a gift with a 10-year ban on state AI regulations. This is outrageous. I’m deeply concerned about the harmful impact that unregulated AI and Big Tech could have on all of us, especially our children, and I won’t stand for it.”

• Rep. Luz Rivas (D-CA) tweeted, “AI has shown tremendous potential to improve and enhance our lives, but if we do not take swift action to address the threats it poses on consumers as they arise, we will not be prepared to address the threats that could arise in the future. My amendment in RulesDemocrats strikes Republicans’ attempt to stymie innovation and states’ abilities to protect Americans from current and future threats from AI and other emerging technologies. I am urging Republicans to allow this important amendment for a vote on the House floor.”

• Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) tweeted, “We must get the NO FAKES Act to President Trump’s desk to keep creators, children, and all Americans out of harm’s way from deep fakes and the abuse of AI.”

• Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) tweeted, “Together with FLOTUS’s Take It Down initiative, we’re fighting back against AI abuse. Today, my colleagues and I reintroduce the bipartisan DEFIANCE Act – giving victims the right to sue when predators attempt to use exploitative deepfake images to intimidate or harm.”

• Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) tweeted, “FPVs can be controlled by fiber optic cable, a technique currently being employed by both Russia and Ukraine. Targeting can also be AI driven. Both are impervious to electronic countermeasures/jamming.”

• Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) tweeted, “A 10-year ban on regulating AI. But what does that mean? It means existing state protections, like California’s new law requiring transparency when AI is used to deny healthcare, become illegal. This isn’t about innovation — it’s about letting corporations deny care and dodge accountability.”

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted, “Donald Trump is building the future of AI in the Middle East and not in America, and risking China stealing our technology. That’s not America First.”

• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted, “The bill BANS states from regulating artificial intelligence – a present to the big AI companies that send $$ to Republicans. So now no state consumer protections against AI stealing our jobs or corrupting our kids. What citizen is asking for that??”

• Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) tweeted, “Trump’s back in the U.S. today after a Middle East trip full of open self-dealing and a foolish move to cede American AI leadership to other countries. This administration really only seems interested in enriching itself while doing absolutely nothing to lower Americans’ costs.”

• Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) tweeted, “The U.S. must lead in AI innovation and accountability. Today, President Trump signed the Take It Down Act. This new law protects people from AI deepfakes which often target families and children. Read more about how the world is adapting to AI.”

• Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) tweeted, “Today, POTUS signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act into law. As AI advances, so do the risks involved with it. This legislation will help children and their families to remove explicit or defamatory images posted online. In the digital age, privacy and security are vital and this is a major step.”

About Zero One Strategies

Zero One Strategies is a boutique government relations practice dedicated to navigating the complex landscape of U.S. federal policy in emerging technologies. As advancements in technology continue to outpace regulatory frameworks, Zero One Strategies aims to provide strategic guidance and bipartisan advocacy for innovators and businesses operating at the forefront of technological development.

The practice focuses on key areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, decentralized technologies, cybersecurity, data, and digital infrastructure, as well as the multiple policy issues impacting these sectors, including tax and financial services.

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