The fight over who controls America’s destiny in artificial intelligence is heating up — and, as usual, the swamp in Washington is playing a nasty game behind closed doors. Republican leadership, spearheaded by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, wants to cram a federal preemption of state AI regulations into the must-pass defense bill. What’s the catch? Nobody outside the Beltway knows what’s in this secret provision. Not the voters. Not the state officials who know their communities best. Just a stealthy power grab to hand Big Tech and AI giants the regulatory keys, shielded from local oversight and public scrutiny.
Here’s the truth: American patriots understand this is a high-stakes fight. The average person isn’t blind to the dangers AI poses to jobs, children’s safety, and the very fabric of society. Poll after poll shows deep, bipartisan concern—especially among Trump supporters—about unregulated AI running wild and wreaking havoc on our economy and culture. Yet, despite overwhelming opposition from Republican governors, state lawmakers, and rank-and-file voters, GOP leaders in D.C. are ignoring their base. They’re betting on a backroom deal with tech lobbyists to push a one-size-fits-all policy that muzzles states and sidelines everyday Americans.
This isn’t just reckless. It’s downright anti-democratic. The NDAA is supposed to be about national security—not a backdoor for corporate-fueled AI rule-making that steals power from the people and their state governments. But Scalise and his cronies are desperate. They think if this legislation gets debated in the open, the people and their representatives will shut it down. So, they’re forcing it through in secret, banking on Washington insiders to pull the strings. It’s the same old story: the swamp putting special interests before the public good.
There is a better, more American way forward—and it’s called democracy. State governments have proven they can protect their citizens without Washington’s heavy hand suffocating innovation or liberty. Conservatives want a federal AI standard, but not one rammed through the NDAA by deal-makers behind closed doors. They want open, transparent debate where voters and lawmakers alike can weigh in before such powerful regulations shape the future. The push to preempt states now reflects not strength, but fear — fear that balanced, fair policy won’t come from the swamp’s secret sausage-making.
If the Republican Party wants to truly stand with its voters, it will stop selling them out to Silicon Valley giants and Washington insiders. The AI future belongs to the people, to the states that understand their unique challenges, and to a national standard forged in the light of day—not a shadowy backroom grab. Otherwise, Republicans will lose not just this fight but the trust of the very Americans who put them in power. So, here’s the question Republican leadership should be answering: Whose side are you really on—the people’s or the lobbyists’?
Source: American Thinker
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