The White House is warning some of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest and most influential figures as they attempt to spearhead a $100 million midterm election campaign to support those advocating for artificial intelligence . Bipartisan candidates oversee the establishment of a global framework.
In August, a super political action committee called "Leading the Future" was created.
Leading the Future (LTF) made it clear from its inception that it planned to adopt a bipartisan approach, and its sole core objective was to provide political support for candidates advocating for a unified federal regulation of artificial intelligence , rather than promoting independent laws and regulations for each state.
In a press release, LTF also wrote, "With over $100 million already in place, LTF has become the first comprehensive and bipartisan action project in the AI industry aimed at rallying political support from all sides and promoting a large number of candidates who support innovation."
Regarding this political action committee, a White House official stated that they had not consulted with the White House beforehand.
What particularly frustrates White House officials is that the committee's plan is to endorse candidates from both parties who support artificial intelligence, meaning the committee could potentially help Democrats regain control of Congress. It's worth noting that the PAC's director is Josh Vlasto, a former senior aide to New York Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
A White House official familiar with Trump's views on the matter revealed, "Any organization controlled by Schumer's followers will not be endorsed by the president and his team. Anyone who donates to or supports such an organization should carefully consider whether they want to distance themselves from the Trump camp."
The official added, "We are closely monitoring the situation of the individuals involved."
The bipartisan approach has drawn criticism from the White House.
Some of the initial donors to the “Leading the Future” PAC project included: private equity giant Andreesseen Horowitz, whose billionaire co-founder Marc Andreesseen is a close advisor to Trump; Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI; and big data... Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of analytics firm Palantir, is a staunch Trump supporter; and Ron Conway, founder of venture capital firm SV Angel, was a supporter of 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Now, this group is clearly under close scrutiny from the White House, as its advocacy for bipartisan cooperation has drawn skepticism.
It is understood that in the upcoming midterm elections, the Democrats only need to win three Republican-controlled seats to gain a majority in the House of Representatives, thereby gaining greater power to obstruct Trump's policy agenda and launch investigations against the president and his allies. The establishment of the LTF at this time is undoubtedly an "uncertain factor" for the Trump administration.
In response, another person familiar with the White House’s thinking said, “The most powerful ‘ally’ of artificial intelligence is none other than President Trump, so it is puzzling why any company would invest in the midterm elections and vote for Schumer’s team, which is at odds with President Trump and intends to help the Democrats win. It’s an insult, and the White House has certainly taken note of this.”
However, since the organization was only recently established, it is not yet required to submit campaign finance reports, which means that it is currently unclear how much each initial donor contributed to the campaign.
(Article source: CLS)
