Dem rep urges Johnson: ‘Bring us back to Congress’ to discuss AI

Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton (Ariz.) said Sunday that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) should keep lawmakers in session to address the risks of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI) models.

“We should take the warnings of the leading investigators of AI very, very seriously,” Stanton told host Chris Stirewalt on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” after a former Anthropic researcher issued a dire warning on Tuesday about the risks of AI .

“Safety and innovation are not the opposite of each other. We can and must do both,” the Arizona Democrat added. “And that’s why we’re demanding Mike Johnson not send Congress home after this week until after the election.”

The House was initially set to be in session the weeks of Sept. 21 and Sept. 28. But House GOP leaders cut the legislative calendar short earlier this month, with lawmakers set to depart Washington, D.C., on Thursday — after a four-day session that follows their 10-day break for Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah.

House lawmakers, like their Senate counterparts , will be out of session for four weeks in October as they campaign ahead of the midterms.

“They should bring us back to Congress, let’s get together and let’s do something on AI safety because the consequences are incredibly serious,” Stanton told Stirewalt, adding that critical infrastructure in the U.S. “could be at risk” if lawmakers do not implement AI safeguards.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) expressed a similar sentiment on Sunday, saying on ABC’s “ This Week ” the lower chamber should “ act urgently ” on AI regulation.

The New York Democrat, though, acknowledged that Republicans “unfortunately” canceled the last two weeks of the lower chamber’s session initially set for later this month.

“We should take decisive action now so that we can slow down … the pace of development in order to protect the American people and ensure that AI is proceeding safely,” Jeffries told host George Stephanopoulos.

Johnson also backed “meaningful regulation” of AI on Sunday, arguing such measures should not “smother American innovation.”

As for keeping lawmakers in town to pass AI regulations, the Louisiana Republican said on NBC’s “ Meet the Press ” he would call a vote on Monday “if we had the solution” to the risks.

“We have to make sure we’re doing it the right way. I think the first step is to have a meeting of all the platform providers,” Johnson told host Kristen Welker, adding he has spoken to President Trump about such a gathering.