Republican opposition to the effort to stop states from regulating artificial intelligence in the GOP reconciliation bill is getting much louder.
Republican senators wrote to Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Wednesday asking him to yank the AI provision from the reconciliation package.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) led the letter, which was also signed by GOP Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Josh Hawley (Mo.). Blackburn has been quietly pushing back on the measure, which she worries will overrule her state’s approach to likeness rights in AI.
“Let’s take this out now and not have to deal with it on the floor,” Hawley told us.
There’s more Republican opposition too. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told us he’s also against Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) proposal, which would make states choose between regulating AI or accepting federal funding for AI infrastructure.
What’s next. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he expects Hawley and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to co-sponsor an amendment with Blackburn to strip the AI provision when the GOP reconciliation bill hits the floor. If they stick together, Hawley, Blackburn, Cramer and Paul plus all 47 Senate Democrats would be enough to defeat the measure on the floor.
Other GOP senators haven’t yet committed to the provision either.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has expressed reservations about restricting states’ ability to regulate AI. Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told us he’s still “torn” on the issue. And Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah.) also said he “fundamentally” doesn’t like restrictions on states, but hasn’t decided if he supports the AI proposal.
States’ rights. Both red and blue states have been pushing lawmakers to reject the AI provision. Hawley told us he spoke with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Wednesday, who called to push for the provision’s removal.
“This means that we won’t be able to go after child pornographers, guys who are violating copyright laws,” Hawley said Bailey told him.
Cruz has pushed back on some of these concerns, and on Wednesday appeared to take direct aim at Blackburn’s opposition to the AI provision.
“The text as written does not impact in any way the ELVIS Act in Tennessee,” Cruz said, referring to the state’s law prohibiting the unauthorized AI reproduction of musicians’ voices.
Outside pushback. We also got the scoop on some new positions on the bill. DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg is calling Cruz’s provision “dangerous” in a blog post.
Meanwhile, the American Edge Project, a coalition allied with Big Tech, told us they’ll be going up on cable and digital platforms with a seven-figure ad buy in several states and D.C. to support Cruz’s provision.
And the National Venture Capital Association is telling Thune they need the regulatory certainty of the freeze. VC firms are major funders of small and medium-sized AI companies.
Kenzie Nguyen contributed to this report.
