Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Axios that he believes President Donald Trump is "not really dug in" against measures to impose guardrails on artificial intelligence, even though Trump has publicly campaigned against restricting the technology.
Thune said he spoke privately with Trump a few weeks ago when the AI issue became "pretty hot." He interprets some of Trump’s public pushback as a response to the "paranoia and noise around the subject," and believes Trump favors companies developing ways to secure their own systems rather than Congress or the administration prescribing solutions. That stance places more reliance on experts to guide practices.
Trump has previously called recent concerns about AI safety a "hoax."
Contacts with tech leaders and the bill
Thune said he is hearing both Trump’s skepticism and warnings from tech executives. He told Axios that Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, called to discuss AI safety before publicly sounding his latest alarm about AI risks. They also discussed Thune’s AI bill.
Thune’s bill—originally developed with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—has not yet been reintroduced in the current Congress. According to Thune, the proposal places the onus on technology companies to mitigate AI risks. It would require AI firms to report any serious risks related to frontier models and to prepare plans to address those concerns. Klobuchar is working to secure more Democratic co-sponsors, including Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), before reintroducing the measure.
Points of contention: pre-deployment testing and rulemaking authority
Thune identified two main sticking points cited by Democrats:
- Pre-deployment testing: in the current bill language, companies can opt into pre-deployment testing; Democrats want it mandated.
- Rulemaking authority at the Department of Commerce: Maria Cantwell is seeking AI rulemaking authority for the Department of Commerce. Thune worries that granting rulemaking authority could concentrate too much power in the executive branch.
Thune said he believes there should be at least some plan and guardrails around AI, which he thinks his bill provides, but he also warned that some actors are engaging in fear-mongering.
Thune’s background on AI policy
Thune’s experience with AI policy informs his role in these negotiations. He noted that if he had not become Senate Majority Leader, he would again be chairing the Commerce Committee, which oversees much of the relevant jurisdiction. That background gives him working familiarity with both industry concerns and legislative options as debates over AI governance continue.
