Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Monday for an immediate classified briefing for all 100 senators on the risks posed by artificial intelligence, making the demand just days after OpenAI hired his daughter for a senior policy position focused on state governments in the Northeast.
Schumer’s call comes amid a sudden wave of warnings from researchers and executives inside the artificial-intelligence industry about the pace at which increasingly powerful systems are being developed. Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who resigned last week, accused leading AI companies of racing toward self-improving systems while “gambling with our lives.” Other researchers have put the risk of AI ultimately causing human extinction above 10%, though experts remain sharply divided over both the likelihood and timeline of such scenarios.
“Warning bells are ringing louder than they ever have — and the Trump administration is looking the other way,” Schumer said. “Well, if they won’t hold themselves accountable, we will. And if Trump does not act, Congress must.” His push comes as Washington remains deeply divided over whether the federal government should impose stronger safeguards on frontier AI development or allow American companies to move quickly in the competition with China.
Schumer said senators need answers in several areas, including the administration’s framework for testing the most advanced AI models, efforts to prevent sophisticated computer chips and manufacturing equipment from reaching China, and preparations to defend hospitals, power grids, water systems and other critical infrastructure from AI-enabled cyberattacks. The administration has developed a voluntary review framework for advanced models, while questions remain over how such systems should be tested and what incidents companies should be required to report.
The timing of Schumer’s demand is drawing additional attention because OpenAI recently hired his daughter, Jessica Schumer, to lead policy and government partnerships across the Northeast. Axios reported the hiring September 5 as part of a three-person expansion of OpenAI’s state-policy operation. Jessica Schumer previously led Amazon’s public-policy work in New York and served as chief of staff of the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration.
OpenAI has said Jessica Schumer’s responsibilities will be separated from her father and Congress. “Jessica will focus on state and local public policy efforts and not federal policy or engagement with Congress. She will not be involved in any advocacy before the Minority Leader or his office related to OpenAI business,” the company said. OpenAI said she was selected through a competitive hiring process.
Her portfolio nevertheless places her near an increasingly important part of the AI regulatory fight. OpenAI has openly pursued what Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane calls “reverse federalism,” supporting similar AI rules in states such as California, New York and Illinois in hopes that they can form a de facto national standard while Congress remains unable to agree on comprehensive legislation. The company has also recently called for mandatory federal AI-safety requirements.
Chuck Schumer has been deeply involved in federal AI policy for years. As Senate majority leader in 2023, he helped organize the Senate’s first classified all-senators briefing devoted to artificial intelligence and later led a bipartisan working group that produced a congressional AI policy roadmap. His latest demand therefore continues a long-running policy effort, but OpenAI’s decision to hire his daughter as it expands its government-affairs operation has added a new layer of scrutiny to the relationship between Washington and one of the companies at the center of the AI debate, especially within the Democratic Party and its newfound effort to regulate these burgeoning companies.
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