Republicans and Democrats Hope for a Crumb of AI Legislation Before Trump Takes Office

Biden created an institute to study AI with an executive order last year. Lawmakers are trying to make it permanent.

The Senate AI Working Group
The tech industry has signaled its support for a more permanent AISI. Bill Clark/AP

Bipartisanship is in increasingly rare supply these days, but in the final weeks of the lame-duck Congress, there’s a last-ditch effort to make some progress on AI regulation.

Republicans and Democrats in both chambers are optimistic about a bill to make permanent the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute, which President Joe Biden created last year by an executive order. President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign platform included a promise to repeal that order, meaning the future of the AISI could be in jeopardy.

Republicans — who rarely want more regulation of anything — are actually the most optimistic that a version of the bill is signed into law before Congress wraps up. One way that might happen: the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), one of Congress’ main priorities in the lame-duck session.