Klobuchar pushes AI safety bill as Trump and GOP House leaders downplay need for oversight

Sydney Kashiwagi, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Sep 17, 2026

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WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders downplay the risks of artificial intelligence, Republicans in the U.S. Senate are working with Sen. Amy Klobuchar to put safeguards on the technology.

While the national conversation around AI shifts from economic disruption, data centers and consumer annoyance to existential threat, Klobuchar said “we need to act now and not wait.”

“AI presents opportunities but also comes with significant risks,” she said. “We cannot allow the development of dangerous models, including those that evade the control of their developers.”

Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon recently warned that artificial intelligence may “kill us all by the end of the decade,” which sent federal lawmakers and industry leaders scrambling to figure out what to do in recent days.

Senate Republicans have been more willing to regulate the industry than Trump and the Republican-controlled House, which was set to leave town beginning Wednesday and will not return until after the midterm elections.

Klobuchar, who is running for Minnesota governor, has partnered with Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz on legislation that would require AI developers to work with the government to verify and test models to ensure safety before models are released. The bill would also require developers to report any imminent risks associated with their products.

Sen. Tina Smith, Minnesota’s other Democratic senator, is supporting Klobuchar’s efforts to figure out a bipartisan path forward on AI and said the companies “don’t get a free pass.”

“We should be clear that these big AI companies can and should be held civilly and criminally liable and prosecuted under current law when their AI models hurt people,” Smith said.

Democratic Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan wants to see “mandatory independent safety testing, real enforcement authority for regulators and legal accountability when these systems cause harm,” her campaign spokesperson said in a statement.

Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump has called claims that AI could take over the world a “hoax” being carried out by “the radical left,” while Speaker Johnson has defended the president’s stance and believes AI companies should self-regulate their technology. But House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans are working to convene a meeting at the White House within the next week that will bring together the heads of AI companies.

GOP Rep. Pete Stauber expressed support for some AI “guardrails.” The northern Minnesota congressman said he wants the United States to “win the AI war” and is committed to making sure the country does so responsibly.

“There are many ways AI can help humanity, from helping small businesses grow to accelerating medical studies,” Stauber said. “I believe there must be rules and guardrails around AI, but if America does not lead on this issue, we allow Communist China to develop a truly dangerous technology that will hurt our national security and the American people.”

Fellow Minnesota Republican Reps. Michelle Fischbach, Brad Finstad, and Tom Emmer — the No. 3 House Republican who also sits on an AI subcommittee — did not respond to requests for comment.

Like Johnson, Emmer also appeared to downplay concerns about AI in an interview with Politico: “Not to be flippant, but back [in] Columbus’ time, they believed the world was flat.”

Earlier this year, Finstad said he supported the need to “ensure our government agencies adopt AI responsibly and transparently” after the House passed a bill that would require the Small Business Administration Administrator to provide an annual report to Congress on the agency’s use of AI.

Among Minnesota Democrats, Rep. Angie Craig is in the process of joining a bipartisan working group that’s being put together on AI. Rep. Betty McCollum said she plans to support a bill by Rep. Greg Cesar and Sen. Bernie Sanders that would permanently ban the development of a “superintelligent” AI and put a temporary pause on any advanced AI development until federal safety rules have been established.

Rep. Kelly Morrison recently signed a letter to Speaker Johnson urging him to keep House members in Washington and not break for October recess until AI safeguards are advanced. Rep. Ilhan Omar supports steps to “immediately” regulate technology companies and their AI models.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said this week he thinks Congress should not leave for recess until “something is done decisively” on AI.