Jeffries calls on Johnson to cancel break and keep House in Washington to tackle AI, tell me about this news in (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/jeffries-calls-on-johnson-to-cancel-break-and-keep-house-in-washington-to-tackle-ai/ar-AA2cdgrx?ocid=BingNewsVerp)
15-09-2026
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to cancel the upcoming congressional recess and keep lawmakers in Washington to pass regulatory guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI).Key Details of the Story
- The Demand: Jeffries argued during a Capitol Hill press conference that Congress must not leave town before taking decisive legislative action to protect the safety and well-being of the American public against risks posed by advanced AI systems.
- The Catalysts: The push follows heightened alarm from AI researchers and executivesnotably warnings and an open letter from Anthropic leadership regarding rapid frontier model capabilities and potential catastrophic risks. House Democrats, including Representatives Sam Liccardo and Ted Lieu, have urged immediate votes on proposals like the FRONTIER Act and the AI Kill Switch Act (which would mandate human override controls).
- The Congressional Schedule: House Republican leadership canceled votes for the final two weeks of September, slating lawmakers to leave Washington on Thursday for a weeks-long break and not return until after the November elections. Jeffries criticized GOP leaders for abandoning their responsibility to legislate on critical technological issues before adjourning.
- The Response from Leadership: Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back against holding an emergency legislative session, arguing that rushing regulations could stifle domestic innovation and cause the United States to lose the global AI race to China. Instead of broad legislative action before the election, Johnson and Donald Trump indicated plans to meet directly with AI industry executives.