'ai Earthquake': Democrats Eye A Silicon Valley Reckoning

Democrats' sweep of Congress in Tuesday’s midterms puts Silicon Valley squarely in the new majority’s sights as they prepare to haul in tech executives for high-profile hearings and set rules for artificial intelligence.

The results mark a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump’s laissez-faire approach to artificial intelligence and the priorities of some of the industry’s wealthiest figures, including Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen and David Sacks.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) called Tuesday night’s results “the early tremor of a much bigger AI earthquake upending American politics.”

Democrats who tapped into voter fears about artificial intelligence and data centers won big Tuesday night, suggesting the tech world is struggling to pitch its AI buildout to the broader public. And the party’s exasperation with the tech industry was on full display Tuesday evening. In his victory speech, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), a potential 2028 presidential contender, lamented “the titans of Silicon Valley dig bunkers for themselves and warn that the artificial intelligence they're creating risks human extinction.”

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) wrote on social media that tech executives “are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing.”

Even some Republicans skeptical of the party’s alliance with tech are now calling out those relationships.

“Rather than heed those concerns, some in the administration and GOP chose to align themselves with Big Tech and corporate plutocrats,” said Daniel Cochrane, a conservative and a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. “The American people reject the alliance of Big AI and Big Government.”

Here’s a look at Democrats’ top tech priorities in the new Congress:

— AI regulation: Democrats are gearing up for aggressive oversight of the AI industry, but the party collectively is still undecided on the best path forward for regulations.

In the House, Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) are working on an AI framework that would require companies to set minimum safety standards, give governments the authority to shut down models if they don’t meet testing requirements and clarify liability rules. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) will be back next year ready to fight for the AI provisions in a sprawling package she introduced this year alongside Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), which would preempt some state AI laws and address catastrophic risk. And members of the House Democratic Commission on AI are sketching out a policy roadmap for the party, which they plan to submit to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries by the end of the year.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a key voice on AI policy, said Tuesday AI is top of mind for Jeffries, who is likely to be the House speaker. Jeffries has “been actively talking to the [House Democratic AI] commission, the three of us, and engaged on the substance,” Gottheimer told POLITICO.

Democratic leaders will also have to decide how to marshal jurisdiction over the novel technology. Tensions have already flared within the House caucus about a proposal to create a new select committee devoted to AI.

Some Democrats already say the populist wing’s call to ban superintelligence and pause the development of advanced AI is untenable. “The [AI] discussion so far is … pretty populist, pretty devoid of fact, and I think we have to be more realistic about it,” Rep. Scott Peters of California, a moderate Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a recent interview.

Things are less clear in the Senate, as Democratic lawmakers consider legislative action to combat potential job losses driven by the technology, vet frontier models before deployment, and ban artificial superintelligence.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who will likely chair the Senate Commerce Committee next Congress, laid out her AI policy proposals in October. The framework covers six areas, including enforceable safety standards for frontier models, continuous testing, disclosure and oversight, public-private partnerships, protection for children and workers, and adherence to U.S.-led global standards.

Some Hill newcomers, meanwhile, have already staked out stances on the technology. Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive who won Michigan’s Senate seat, has called for a “full-on pause” on frontier AI and warned of its grave alleged risks.

— Export controls: A Democratic takeover of the Senate also opens the door to investigations into long-standing targets like the U.S. chip giant Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang, whose close relationship with Trump helped insulate the company from scrutiny in a GOP-controlled Congress as it lobbied for curbing restrictions on chip exports to China.

Chris McGuire, a former tech and national security official in the Biden administration, said he expects Democrats, especially Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), to make export controls a key part of their AI agenda.

Nvidia has already faced fresh scrutiny after The New York Times reported a suspected Chinese intelligence asset cultivated ties with Huang, which lawmakers say bolsters the case for tightening restrictions on tech exports, several of which are being eyed for inclusion in the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

McGuire added that Tuesday’s results will embolden Republicans to buck the White House on issues like export controls, especially after several GOP lawmakers pushed bipartisan measures to curb China’s access to AI chips this year.

“I think you will see Republicans who are interested in doing something in this space become even more aggressive in some ways,” McGuire said.

A separate tech industry representative who remains close to the Trump administration put it more bluntly: “Knives out for Nvidia.”

The takeover also bolsters the chances of senior Trump administration officials like Jeffrey Kessler, undersecretary for industry and security in the Commerce Department, being subpoenaed and summoned to testify before committees.

— Kids’ safety and surveillance: Tuesday saw the re-election of some tech-savvy lawmakers like Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who helped spearhead the House version of the Kids Online Safety Act. The legislation, which would add guardrails to protect children online, will likely return in the new Congress if it isn’t passed during the lame duck session.

Democrats like Castor and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the lead Senate sponsor, will have to decide how to reconcile differences between the two chambers, like whether to include a provision requiring platforms to prevent foreseeable harm to children.

These issues could gain momentum in tandem with other consumer safeguards, such as proposals to protect data privacy. In the House, Pallone has taken a hard look at the rise of surveillance pricing practices. Many Democrats have also begun voicing skepticism of AI-powered Flock surveillance cameras and other license plate readers, with some progressives already floating legislation to ban the technology.

— Internet expansion: Watch for Democrats to press the Commerce Department over how it steered the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. Pallone has voiced skepticism that satellite companies can adequately deliver internet connectivity for rural consumers — another way for Democrats to probe Musk, the CEO of SpaceX— and pushed the administration to clarify how states can spend billions of dollars in leftover funding.

Hill Democrats could back up states as they wrestle with the administration over the strings attached to the funding. Tensions are sharpening in California over the Commerce Department’s attempt to halt enforcement of the state’s net neutrality law.

Pallone and progressive Democrats will also likely put a new emphasis on broadband affordability and consumer protections, issues that could also seep into lawmakers’ consideration of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund of internet subsidies.

Musk, who poured hundreds of millions of dollars into trying to help the GOP this election cycle, seemed to lament the outcome shortly after 1 a.m. “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” Musk wrote on X.

Gabby Miller and Calder McHugh contributed to this report.