Members of Congress Increasingly Take Jobs as AI Lobbyists
Ethics disclosures show hundreds of new entities lobbying on artificial intelligence policy. Former lawmakers are spinning through the revolving door.
Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the independent U.S. Senator from Arizona who retired last year after leaving the Democratic Party, filmed an infomercial for her new position as a senior advisor at law and lobbying powerhouse Hogan Lovells.
"I was really drawn to to the firm for its incredible ability to help clients at the intersection of business and government," Sinema says in the video. Moments later, she exclaims that she is "excited to start working with companies" and singles out those involved in artificial intelligence.
In Silicon Valley, AI tech giants are in a bidding war, competing to hire the best and brightest computer programmers. But a different hiring spree is underway in D.C.
AI firms are on an influence-peddling spree, hiring hundreds of former government officials and retaining former members of Congress as consultants and lobbyists. The latest disclosure filings show over 500 entities lobbying on AI policy—from federal rules designed to preempt state and local safety regulations to water and energy-intensive data centers and integration into government contracting and certifications.
Lawmakers are increasingly making the jump from serving constituents as elected officials to working directly as influence peddlers for AI interests.
– Former Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., a former lobbyist appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, left Congress last year and returned to her former profession. She is now working as a consultant to OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT.
– Former Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., recently registered for the first time as a lobbyist. Among his initial clients is Lazarus AI, which sells AI products to the Defense Department.
– OpenAI also registered former Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., a former senior ranking Democrat, as a lobbyist via the firm Mercury LLC. Bustos's disclosure notes she works on "issues related to artificial intelligence policy" on behalf of the firm.
– Former Rep Kevin Yoder, R-Kansas, is registered to lobby on AI policy for Microsoft and BigBear.AI, which he is working to shape policies “impacting AI-powered decision intelligence solutions for defense, national security, travel & transportation.”
– Former Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., is registered to lobby for Windward USA to a leading maritime AI company, to influence AI policy.
– Former Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, is registered to lobby on AI policy for firms Polygraf AI and Virtualitics, Inc.
– Former Sen. Norm Coleman, R-MN, was previously registered to lobby on behalf of OpenAI. He is currently registered to represent the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a trade group for Amazon, Apple, and Google, among other major tech firms. Coleman works for CCIA’s “Don't Break What Works campaign,” which fights to stop anti-monopoly legislation such as the American Innovation and Choice Act. The campaign claims efforts to break up tech monopolies will harm "American AI innovation."
– Former Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., represents data and AI giant Palantir as a registered lobbyist through his work at the Trump-connected firm Ballard Partners.
The expanding reach of artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping hundreds of professions, weapons of war, and the ways we connect with one another. The technology, many predict, will serve a transformative role akin to another industrial revolution.
How will Americans cope with the changes as industries as diverse as trucking and copyediting are replaced en masse by AI-powered automation?
The pace and scale of the leap are yet to be seen. What's clear is that the AI firms set to benefit most from these changes are taking control of the policymaking apparatus to write the laws and regulations during the transition.
Photo: Hogan Lovells YouTube video with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Unlike most consumer products which must go through rigorous testing and reports to prove they're safe, AI chatbots are tested on all of us in real time, because Meta, Google, OpenAI, et al. are rushing to release untested chatbots in a race against each other to corner the market.
Never has such a widely-used consumer product been totally unregulated. Meanwhile, our former "public servants" like Kyrsten Sinema, Norm Coleman, and others serve as hucksters, seeking a bit of the cash for themselves from their corporate lords.
Pox on both their houses.
I really wish we could institute a lifetime lobby ban for anyone elected to Congress (it's probably unconstitutional, and besides, they will find enough loopholes, as many do, to avoid registering under existing law). From my experience, they don't make the best lobbyists; former staff are the real experts on issues like this.