Big Tech courts Democrats as midterms sharpen AI scrutiny

OpenAI’s hiring of Jessica Schumer, daughter of Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, and its decision to call data centers “compute campuses” are among the moves drawing attention. J.B. Branch, director of federal AI governance and technology policy at Public Citizen, called such efforts “PR washing,” saying the industry “realizes they have an optics problem.” He expects more corporate partnerships, citing OpenAI’s work with the American Federation of Teachers, Anthropic’s Claude Corps and Meta’s America’s Workforce Academy.

Over the past two years, prominent technology companies and executives have drawn closer to Trump and his administration. Some attended White House events, companies scaled back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and executives gave millions to super PACs backing Trump and allied candidates. The industry also benefited from tax breaks, paused federal investigations and looser AI regulation. Meta, however, has faced lawsuits and billion-dollar fines; OpenAI has faced suits alleging its technology harmed users.

Meta President Dina Powell McCormick said this week that companies must work with elected governments and seek bipartisan support. But Alice Marwick, research director at Data & Society, said a pivot toward the political center, “if not the left,” may come too late. She argued that companies should focus on making people’s lives better.

The policy debate may play out more in states and local communities than in Washington. Aryan Ranjan, founder of political campaign software company Baraza, said political gridlock could limit federal action. He expects Democrats to frame AI around electricity bills, data-center siting and jobs. States have already passed laws on chatbots and deepfakes, despite a Trump administration executive order creating an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws.

Data-center moratoriums are gaining traction, and AI regulation bills are awaiting drafting. The White House said Trump wants the United States to lead in “super intelligence” while protecting consumers. Branch also warned that a possible AI market collapse could become a political liability for Trump, following a trillion-dollar market sell-off the day after the midterms. Ranjan said companies’ AI rules over the next two years may depend more on where they operate than on what Washington enacts.