Thune sees role for Congress on AI — Trump does not

AxiosSeptember 14, 2026en

Majority Leader John Thune is asserting Congress' prerogative to act on AI — but he's urging a "light touch" even in the face of "consequential risks." Why it matters: On his first day back after a five-week break, Thune (R-S.D.) outlined his vision for congressional action on an issue President Trump has dismissed as a " hoax ." "Congress has a job to do," Thune said. "I think there are some potential consequential risks associated with AI," Thune told reporters when asked if he believes AI poses an existential threat to humanity. He added, "Guardrails there make sense to me" about cutting-edge, frontier AI models. But Thune also said that "there are always people who are creating a worst-c

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