Congressional stalemates take wind out of US digital policy sails

The clock is ticking on the digital policy aspirations of the 119th U.S. Congress. As of 21 July, only 33 shared working days remain for the Senate and House on this year's congressional calendar, which includes a sprint to the 2026 midterm election and a potential change of power in both chambers heading into 2027.

Not only is time against lawmakers, but long-standing policy debates — across the aisle and within caucuses — remain unresolved as the legislating window dwindles. The latest divide came with a reported White House meeting 20 July between U.S. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans attempting to move an artificial intelligence omnibus package highlighted by the inclusion of the upper chamber's bipartisan version of the Kids Online Safety Act.

Punchbowl News and Politico reported on the meeting between President Trump and Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Discussions notably did not yield a final endorsement from the president on Blackburn's omnibus proposal, which aims to address children's AI safety through the proposed KOSA while tackling AI copyright issues with the proposed NO FAKES Act.

Politico's account of the meeting through anonymous sources indicated Cruz was also wary of the omnibus' odds in the Senate, but Punchbowl later reported Cruz would ultimately back Blackburn's framework.

Struggle to align

Signoff from the administration is likely a final step before Cruz can confidently bring the package before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation for consideration. Cruz, the Senate Commerce chair, was reportedly eyeing a 29 July markup of AI bills, but nothing is officially scheduled at this point.

He told Politico in June that the expected markup "is designed to move legislation that has a real chance of passing into law" and any bills included in the session would come following his review of "what bipartisan agreement and consensus can be reached."

With the omnibus, Blackburn has long pushed for KOSA's passage and had success among Senate colleagues, getting the bill passed in a separate 2024 omnibus on a 91-3 vote before it died in the House. She reframed the children's proposal to fit the Trump administration's policy position to preempt state-level AI legislation.

"President Trump understands that enacting federal standards to establish AI guardrails and protect children online is absolutely imperative before the end of this Congress, which is why he invited us to the Oval today to continue our discussions on the best path forward for my legislative package," Blackburn said in a public statement. "I look forward to working with all my colleagues to continue building bipartisan consensus and get this agreement across the finish line before the end of the year."

Notably, Blackburn will not be returning to Congress after the midterms as she is a gubernatorial candidate in Tennessee. If Blackburn were to become Tennessee's governor, her digital policy positions could translate into the types of state bills she is currently aiming to tamp down.

Part of Trump and Cruz's perceived reluctance to get behind Blackburn is AI and children's online safety work in the House.

The lower chamber advanced its own KOSA-led omnibus in June that does not have the Senate's support, due in large to the omission of a duty of care provision. House Republicans are also working on bipartisan cross-sectoral AI legislation, with Reps. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Lori Trahan, D-Mass., leading the way on a preemptive framework.

On comprehensive privacy legislation, previous bipartisan and bicameral sentiments are in the rearview. House Republicans' proposed Securing and Establishing Consumer Uniform Rights and Enforcement over Data Act is stuck in the Committee on Energy and Commerce with no timetable for movement. Meanwhile, neither Senate Republicans nor Democrats have comprehensive privacy in their immediate priorities, with most privacy discussions coming up in the children's online safety debate.

Democrats' AI approach

Despite the aforementioned bipartisan initiatives, Democrats are mostly blocked out on digital policy in their minority position in Congress. That does not mean they are not laying the groundwork for progress to be made if or when they retain control of one or both chambers of Congress in November.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., will vie for reelection this fall with AI policy at the heart of his strategy, Axios reports. Warner introduced the Secure AI Development Act, aiming to institute pre-deployment tests of frontier models while establishing a voluntary system for safety incident reporting.

In a draft floor speech seen by Axios that Warner will deliver 21 July, he said, "I share the concern of many Americans that the impacts of this technology on our country and our culture could be catastrophic."

"But let's be honest with ourselves … we're not putting this genie back in the bottle," he added. "And the amount of disruption this technology will bring over the next five years is, frankly, beyond jaw-dropping."

Meanwhile, Punchbowl reports House Democrats are keen to create a bipartisan AI-focused group if they take the majority, a contrast from the current Republican leadership. The discussions are preliminary in nature, but a potential formal group could generate more subject matter knowledge toward general foundations for AI policymaking.