A bipartisan group of senators has taken a critical step forward in regulating artificial intelligence, releasing a long-awaited, Chuck Schumer-endorsed “roadmap” for addressing AI that Congress could take up this term.

The bipartisan working group, which consists of Schumer, Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), has been developing the report for months, looking to outline areas of AI ripe for bipartisan regulation. The quartet hosted a number of AI briefings this term for senators, hoping to educate sometimes tech-averse lawmakers.

Topline AI priorities in the report include:

Boosting funding for AI innovation
Tackling nationwide standards for AI safety and fairness
Using AI to strengthen U.S. national security
Addressing potential job displacement for U.S. workers caused by AI
Tackling so-called “deepfakes” being used in elections, and “non-consensual distribution of intimate images”
Ensuring that opportunities to partake in AI innovation reach schools and companies

“AI is not only complex, but it’s rapidly evolving and it’s so broad in its impact,” Schumer said in a discussion on the report with journalists Tuesday night. “So the longer we wait, the more the gap becomes. … We’ve never ever dealt with anything like this before.”
Those goals would come at a price, though. The report says the eventual goal would be to spend “at least $32 billion per year for (non-defense) AI innovation,” as recommended by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence in a 2021 report. But the senators emphasized that would be over a number of years.

“I think when you’re talking about AI, they’re going to upgrade the old message of ‘you could be penny-wise and pound-foolish,’” Rounds said. “In this case, it may very well be, you could be billions-wise and trillions-foolish.”

Schumer and the rest of the working group said the plan is to have individual committees move forward with the parts of the report relevant to their jurisdiction. The Senate majority leader also said the plan is not to wait on a larger package to come together — and instead to be flexible on moving smaller bills individually if they’re ready to go.

Schumer did indicate one area of legislating that was particularly high up on the priority list: addressing the use of AI in elections. He did not specify timing on that legislation on the floor, however.

Of course, it’s a huge jump from a report to passing bills through both chambers — particularly in this split Congress. The Senate is going to be largely unfriendly territory for legislating these next few months and will be gone for weeks at a time this fall. And while the group said it is hoping for buy-in from the House, the House is a bit unpredictable nowadays, to say the least.

The Senate’s next deadline for must-pass legislation isn’t until fall, on government funding and the farm bill, meaning AI provisions won’t be able to hitch a ride on more comprehensive legislation for a while. And with the November elections just around the corner, vulnerable incumbents aren’t going to be looking to vote on much. Any bills that include government spending could have particular holdups.

Still, Schumer has been adamant that he’ll push Congress to act on a bevy of priorities this year, AI included. And there’s always the post-election lame-duck session, where finicky policy can weasel its way through.

Asked about the difficulty of passing policy in an election year, Schumer told POLITICO: “We’re going to have to persuade our colleagues, but we think the arguments are overwhelming.”

Mohar Chatterjee contributed to this report.

News the Biden administration is continuing with arms transfers to Israel won a tentative quick seal of approval from many in the House Democratic conference, even as members across the spectrum called for greater clarity on the administration’s overall approach to the ongoing conflict.

Signs of divisions within the caucus were nevertheless apparent over the latest weapons shipment plans Tuesday night and came shortly before Republicans prepared to try and divide the conference over the president’s pledge to withhold heavy bombs from the key ally.

“I’m not going to second-guess every detail of that [decision on arms transfers] — that the president and people who know a lot more than me have to decide,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), a progressive, told POLITICO.

“If the president and the United States drew a red line at Rafah, then it’s really incredibly important that we do not equip the Netanyahu government with the tools and weapons to cross our own red line,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). “In terms of a more cohesive approach, I think it’s important.”

Many Democrats were quick to note they didn’t know the details of the latest arms package, details of which first emerged in The Wall Street Journal. The bulk of progressive Democrats have argued for restrictions on weapons transfers to pressure Israel to change its conduct in the war, while staunch pro-Israel advocates have argued against any limits on military aid.

The reports of new shipments of certain military aid comes hours before the chamber is slated to deliver a pointed rebuke to the Biden administration’s plan to withhold heavy bombs from the key U.S. ally, a vote that members believe could see dozens of Democratic defections.

Some Democrats inclined to support the GOP-led legislation also called for greater clarity from the White House about the overarching strategy in the conflict.

“What would be really helpful is clarity from the White House and the president as to our strategic priorities, as it relates to ending this war,” said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), a frontline member who’s said he’ll support the GOP legislation up for a vote this week.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said in a brief interview she was undecided on whether she planned to support the Republican legislation that would move the weapons package but had concerns about the Biden administration sharing its defense plans to the public.

“These are not the kind of discussions and strategies that need to be playing out publicly, because there are so many different kinds of decisions — a lot of moving parts —  but it was still concerning that [Biden] made that announcement last week,” she said. “But with the addition of this billion dollars, that makes it very clear that [withholding the weapons package] is just one small component of the broader strategy.”

A spokesperson for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Another member of Democratic leadership, Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, declined comment.

A White House official referred questions about specific weapons packages to the State Department, but confirmed that “arms transfers are continuing as scheduled.” A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The new arms shipment comes as the White House has sought to tamp down support for the GOP-led bill that would prohibit Biden from withholding military aid to Israel. Biden officials spent Tuesday whipping against the bill, the White House official said, amid worries that many lawmakers were misinterpreting the extent of the administration’s actions.

“The legislation assumes as a baseline that the administration is pausing more weapons shipments than just one,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal thinking. “That’s just not the case.”

In calls to lawmakers and aides, the White House has argued that the legislation amounts to little more than a political ploy aimed at dividing the Democratic Party. Biden officials have also reiterated that the administration remains steadfastly in support of Israel’s defense, and that its decision to hold up a shipment of bombs last week was rooted solely in an effort to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

The White House typically steers clear of getting deeply involved in internal debates among Hill Democrats. But the decision to take an early public stance against the legislation represented the heightened concern within the administration that many lawmakers would support the bill — and deliver an implicit rebuke of Biden’s decision-making — without first fully understanding the specifics of its fast-evolving Middle East strategy.

That’s not to say those Democrats who have been critical of the administration’s approach to the conflict between Israel and Gaza were pleased to hear weapons shipments were continuing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not big on receiving messages,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). “They have the right to defend themselves. They have the right to go after Hamas, but they don’t have the right to do it in any manner they see fit when they’re using our resources.”

Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

Republicans aren’t working hard to claim the seats of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), even after their high-profile corruption-related indictments. But the GOP is laying plans to hang their legal problems around the necks of their Democratic colleagues.

In a year when the party faces a notably favorable Senate map replete with opportunities in more purple states, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is not making a play in New Jersey (good news for Rep. Andy Kim!). But the GOP’s Senate campaign arm is homing in on Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in a bid to build Menendez’ indictments into a larger narrative that Democratic incumbents are ethically challenged.

“Bob Menendez’ comical level of corruption has brought political self-dealing to the forefront of voters’ minds. That is bad news for Bob Casey and Jon Tester, because they both have serious vulnerabilities on corruption and ethics issues,” NRSC spokesperson Mike Berg said in a statement to POLITICO.

Why Casey and Tester, and not others? Republicans have specifically eyed Casey and Tester as vulnerable to ethics critiques even before their colleague got indicted, thanks to past reports about their connections to lobbyists. Casey’s also been hit on certain donor ties, while Tester has faced some negative press about periodic lapses in his self-imposed ethics pledge.

Both Casey and Tester, notably, have called on Menendez to resign over his bribery charges.

“Jon Tester goes above and beyond nearly every Senate office when it comes to transparency and cracking down on lobbyist influence,” Tester spokesperson Monica Robinson said in response to the Republican jab.

Robinson also dinged likely GOP nominee Tim Sheehy’s “refusal to divest from his company” as a “major conflict of interest, as he tries to get elected to the very office that would steer lucrative federal contracts to his business.”

Casey spokesperson Maddy McDaniel similarly replied that “Pennsylvanians know Bob Casey for his decency, ethics, and honesty” and dinged GOP Senate nominee Dave McCormick for “dishonesty and self-dealing,” noting carpetbagger allegations against the candidate, among other subjects.

McCormick spokesperson Elizabeth Gregory responded: “On November 5, Pennsylvania will retire empty suit Bob Casey and send Dave McCormick to the Senate.”

Over in the House, the GOP has a similar strategy for Cuellar’s seat. Republicans targeted him directly last cycle, but this time around he has stayed off their list — until the indictment made his troubles a problem for the other House Democrat in a South Texas district.

Now the National Republican Congressional Committee is using Cuellar’s legal challenges to try to connect him with vulnerable Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. The latter Democrat is facing an uphill battle in his reelection against former GOP Rep. Mayra Flores, who lost the South Texas district to Gonzalez by 9 points last cycle.

“Cuellar’s indictment puts the other South Texas Democrats in a lose-lose spot – they either condemn their colleague or they stay silent and become complicit in the pattern of politicians using their positions for self-serving purposes. So far, Vicente Gonzalez and Michelle Vallejo have chosen to stay silent and put corruption ahead of serving South Texans,” said Delanie Bomar, an NRCC spokesperson, in a statement.

“Mayra has a lot more to worry about being endorsed and following and loving a 92-time indicted orange master than I have by somebody who’s two districts away and a very independent person,” Gonzalez said in a statement to POLITICO Tuesday. “The NRCC’s insinuation of me and South Texas is just one more racist and anti Latino remark the Republican Party is so used to making. Which is also why the majority of Latinos in this country continue to reject their party.”

Another front: The NRCC is also pushing House Democrats, including Minority Whip Katherine Clark, to return donations from Cuellar’s leadership PAC, called the Texas First PAC. The PAC gave Clark $5,000 this cycle.

Meanwhile, the GOP’s rising interest in ethics-related indictments doesn’t extend to Trump. And Democrats aren’t shying away from turning the presidential frontrunner’s New York trial into a potential problem for their opponents.

Take Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who made headlines a few days ago when he stopped by to support the former president at his trial in New York — and was called out by Democratic opponent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

“Instead of showing up to vote on a bill that protects Florida travelers, strengthens air safety, and provides our aviation workforce with the resources they need to secure our skies, Rick Scott spent his day sucking up to a defendant found liable for sexual abuse,” she said in a statement.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is leading a handful of GOP colleagues in a push to award a Congressional Gold Medal to former President Donald Trump.

Luna (R-Fla.), joined by seven other Republicans — GOP Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), and Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Andy Ogles (Tenn.), Randy Weber (Texas), Bob Good (Va.), Mary Miller (Ill.) and Mike Waltz (Fla.) — offered the resolution Tuesday. It comes as Trump sits in New York amid an ongoing criminal case concerning hush money payments to former adult actress Stormy Daniels.

Neither the offices of Speaker Mike Johnson nor Majority Leader Steve Scalise were immediately available for comment.

Among the clauses in the resolution are “the greatest of President Trump’s foreign policy achievements was that no wars were started while he was in office.”

Recent recipients of the award have ranged from the Dalai Lama to the Tuskegee Airmen and golfer Jack Nicklaus, among others.

Top House Democrats plan to oppose GOP legislation compelling the delivery to Israel of defense equipment already approved by Congress — and are actively urging a no vote in their caucus, teeing up a fight over an issue deeply dividing the party.

“This is not a serious legislative effort. It is another partisan stunt by Extreme MAGA Republicans who are determined to hurt President Biden politically,” Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s (D-Mass.) office said in a notice sent to Hill offices on Tuesday.

The Republican legislation significantly escalates tension with the Biden White House over its planned holdup of certain weapons to Israel while the U.S. ally’s military prepares a push into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Slated for consideration as soon as Wednesday, the GOP measure will force many Democrats to make a tough choice: Either rebuke their party leader’s approach to Israel or leave themselves open to GOP attacks.

The bill freezes budgets for the offices of the defense secretary, secretary of state and National Security Council if Biden doesn’t deliver the weapons being withheld. The House Rules Committee plans to tee it up for consideration during a Tuesday meeting. The Biden administration has publicly said it would oppose the legislation and is likely to issue a statement of administration policy and could threaten a veto, which might help solidify Democratic opposition.

The latest furor over Israel policy came after Biden told CNN last week that his administration would stop deliveries of bombs and other munitions to conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if it proceeded with a major invasion of Rafah, prompting an immediate condemnation from Republicans in Congress. After his remarks, Republicans accused Biden of abandoning a top ally and hurting U.S. foreign policy.

House Appropriations Committee Republicans unveiled the legislation over the weekend; it would compel the delivery of defense equipment already approved by Congress. It also includes a section that “condemns the Biden Administration’s decision to pause certain arms transfers to Israel.”

The Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely to act on the legislation after it passes the House.

A group of several dozen House Democrats sent a letter last week pushing back on Biden’s decision, but not all 26 Democratic signatories are guaranteed to defect on the House floor. And the whip operation is going into effect with some Democrats still on the fence.

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), a signatory of the letter, is “still reviewing the Calvert bill but would strongly disagree with a purely political approach to ensuring that Israel has the weapons they need to eliminate Hamas as the bill appears to be,” said his spokesperson, Jayce Genco.

Some national security-minded Democrats indicated opposition to the legislation, with House Armed Services Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) calling it “a blunt instrument” that would be “tantamount to writing a blank check to unconditionally send weapons, something we cannot do no matter how close an ally or friend.”

“It ties the hands of the president in a vain effort to score political points at home,” he said in a statement.

Centrist Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) was the only Democrat to sign onto a letter to Biden, co-signed by 103 Republicans, seeking an explanation for the delayed weapons shipments and asking the president why his administration is “working to prevent Israel from eliminating remnants of an evil terrorist group” in Hamas.

“Through actions and words, your administration, President Biden, has made our allies unsure about our loyalty to them,” the mostly GOP group wrote. “The U.S. must stand with Israel throughout their conflict and support them until they accomplish their goal of dismantling Hamas.”

Daniella Diaz, Joe Gould, and Connor O’Brien contributed to this report

House GOP leadership has a chance to spotlight Democratic divides over Israel this week with a bill that will force lawmakers to take a position on the Biden administration’s weapons pause to the ally.

The vote is expected to split Democrats, exposing divisions between those who fully back Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza, and those who support a ceasefire and oppose further military aid to Israel.

The measure calls on the Biden administration to “proceed quickly” with previously green-lit arms transfers and requires the administration to “utilize all congressionally appropriated funds for security assistance for Israel as Congress intended.”

More than a messaging bill: The measure has substantive provisions limiting what can be done with funds appropriated by Congress to the Pentagon and State Department.

GOP members are expected to widely support the condemnation of the Biden administration’s weapons pause.

Republicans benefit from any opportunity to divide Democrats in an election year. But keep in mind: The legislation has bleak chances in the Senate.

Also, aviation: Also on the House’s agenda this week is the Senate-passed, five-year, $105 billion bill that will reauthorize the FAA. Votes on both the Israel and aviation measures are expected Wednesday.

Election watch: What we’re keeping an eye on this Election Day

Maryland’s Democratic primary for Senate, where it’s a fight between Rep. David Trone and Angela Alsobrooks to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin. The winner’s prize will be facing former Gov. Larry Hogan in the general election. 
The race to replace retiring Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes in the 3rd District pits activist and former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn against state Sen. Sarah Elfreth, who has the support of AIPAC’s super PAC.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is favored to win the GOP Senate nomination, which sets him up to replace retiring Democrat Joe Manchin. 

One Nation, a top conservative group, is plowing $70 million more into hitting vulnerable Democrats in key Senate races nationwide according to details first shared with POLITICO, an extraordinary sum that’s roughly double the group’s Senate investment last cycle.

The nonprofit advocacy outfit, which is closely aligned with GOP leaders and the top GOP super PAC, is dropping tens of millions into five key battleground states to join a campaign already up in Montana.

The group is diving into Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada in a sweeping ad buy focused on the southern border and inflation, an effort branded as the “Stop the Insanity” campaign. The push includes spending on radio, mail, TV and digital.

The total spend for the campaign this cycle is $88 million, more than double the $43 million run of ads the group ran last cycle. The lion’s share of the new money will go into what Republicans currently see as their top three pick-up opportunities: The group will start $28.6 million in ads in Ohio on May 22 and $18.6 million in Pennsylvania starting in mid-June. The group previously announced a $17.9 million tranche of ads in Montana.

One Nation will also air $9.4 million in ads in Michigan and $7.5 million in Wisconsin starting in August and $5.9 million in Nevada beginning on June 18. The summer ads are still under development; the two that have run in Montana both hit Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) on his border record.

“President Joe Biden and liberals in Congress have enacted policies that are hurting our country and it’s time to tell them to stop the insanity,” said One Nation President and CEO Steven Law. “Americans are increasingly concerned about our porous Southern border and saving for the future because the cost of living is so high. There are solutions to these problems, but liberals in Washington, D.C., aren’t listening.”

The campaign excludes two other prospective battlegrounds in Arizona and Maryland, though money could be added later this summer.

Many Democrats are staking their border security politics on the bipartisan border deal hatched earlier this year by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).

At-risk Democrats, including Tester, are pressing Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to hold another vote on it, arguing the GOP’s rejection of that bill, directed by Donald Trump, demonstrates their position is all politics. Tester also recently signed onto the Laken Riley Act, which would detain undocumented immigrants who are arrested for stealing.

With the border still a hot issue nationally, Tester and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are widely seen as the most vulnerable Democrats this election cycle, and Republicans believe they have a good shot against Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) as well. Spending in the other three states shows Republicans are still playing on a wide field.

The top GOP super PAC, Senate Leadership Fund, has already reserved fall ads in Montana and Ohio, while Democrats have already invested more than $300 million across the Senate map between Senate Majority PAC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. That’s to say nothing of the Democratic senators and candidates themselves, who are generally outraising their opponents.

As NRSC Chair Steve Daines put it in an interview this week: “We are at a cash on hand disadvantage in virtually every race.”

That’s what makes the One Nation’s onslaught so important: It gives the GOP critical air cover in half a dozen states while the rest of the party braces for the crucial fall ad buying season.

The Hill’s nonpartisan ethics watchdog found probable cause to believe Rep. Troy Nehls used campaign funds for personal use, according to a new report released Friday.

“[T]here is probable cause to believe that Rep. Nehls may have converted campaign funds to personal use by expending funds that were not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes,” wrote the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics.

The investigation was disclosed in a report released Friday by the House Ethics Committee, which is evenly split between both parties.

The Texas Republican’s congressional campaign made periodic rent payments since the 2020 campaign cycle to a company, Liberty 1776 LLC, owned and operated by Nehls and headquartered at his home address, according to the report. The company’s right to do business in Texas had been terminated by the state in 2022 for failing to pay taxes.

But his campaign listed a separate venue, “Freedom Hall,” as its headquarters. OCE wrote that it had been a bar or tavern later converted into an Islamic center and boarding school. No rent payments were directly recorded from the Nehls campaign to the venue or the entity that owned it.

Although campaign rules don’t prohibit lawmakers from providing services like rental space to their campaigns, they have to do so at fair market values. Nehls and his staff did not cooperate with the ethics investigation, according to OCE, leaving the watchdog without clarification from his camp.

Jerad Najvar, an attorney for Nehls, denied the allegations in a response released along with the report. The payments from Nehls’ campaign to Liberty 1776 LLC were for rent at the Freedom Hall location, Najvar wrote, which was used for campaign events and activities during the 2020 and 2022 cycles.

“While Respondent was a member of the LLC and established the entity, he took no salary and did not otherwise receive any profits from its operation,” Navjar wrote.

Nehls, in a statement, said he refused to cooperate with OCE because it was created under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but “my books remain open, and I am cooperating with the legitimate House Committee on Ethics.”

House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said President Joe Biden should not have announced his plans to withhold weapons from Israel.

“I don’t think he should have done it publicly,” Smith said Friday on CNN. “I think the private conversations were very appropriate.”

Why it matters: It’s rare for a Democrat to break with Biden, and for the most part the president’s decision has been celebrated by progressives. Smith, as the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, has an outsized voice on national security matters.

Refresher: Biden said in a CNN interview that aired Wednesday that he would halt shipments of bombs and other munitions to Israel if it launched a major military invasion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Support continues: It’s plain that the U.S. supports Israel as evidenced by the recent aid package and the military’s “huge role” in downing a barrage of Iranian missiles fired at Israel, Smith said. What’s less clear is what weapons Biden is restricting and that he wants Israel not to launch a full invasion of Rafah.

“I don’t think that is as clear as it should be, and I think the president should clear it up,” Smith said.

It’s also given Republicans ammunition to attack Biden as having backed off its Israel support.

“The facts don’t back that up,” Smith said.

Blame Hamas: The disclosure obscures that Hamas is the biggest obstacle to a ceasefire that’s been on the table for months, Smith said.

“We have to keep the pressure on Hamas to agree to that ceasefire,” he said.

An alternative to withholding weapons, Smith said, could have been to send them with restrictions on their use, as it does with Ukraine.