In the News
OpenAI findings boost GOP claims of foreign influence
OpenAI published new research this afternoon claiming China was likely behind two online influence operations intended to sway U.S. perceptions of artificial intelligence technology and reshape the debate in Washington around the infrastructure needed to support it, our colleagues Dana Nickel and Yasmin Khorram report with Jacob.
— The company’s researchers identified two clusters of ChatGPT users “likely originating from China” who used the AI chatbot to generate social media content promoting certain narratives about AI. This includes claims that data center build-outs are raising electricity costs for Americans and that President Donald Trump has weaponized tariffs to keep the U.S. ahead in the global tech race. The content was then posted by “batches of accounts” posing as Americans, said OpenAI’s Ben Nimmo during a press briefing on the report.
— The findings are likely to further fuel claims made by Republicans and others in the pro-AI camp that foreign entities have tried to meddle in the debate over AI data centers, which has become a policy flashpoint heading into the midterms. However, Nimmo also said “neither campaign appears to have gained much authentic engagement” and acknowledged the existing public backlash in the U.S.
— “There is a genuine debate going on in the states over the future of AI and data centers,” Nimmo said. “But what we don’t want to see is a covert foreign influence interference operation using the very same AI that it attacks.”
— Data center anxiety has resulted in dozens of proposed moratoriums at the local, state and national level. A POLITICO poll conducted by London-based independent polling partner Public First in January found that Americans are most concerned about rising electricity costs and the risk of blackouts when it comes to data center construction.
— A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send your latest tips, pitches and K Street goss to jwendler@politico.com and dbarnes@politico.com or message us on Signal at jwendler.89 and danielbarnes.13. And don’t forget to follow us on X at @jacob_wendler and @dnlbrns.
FIRST IN PI — HEGSETH’S AI SPEECH: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to deliver a speech on “the future of American defense in the age of artificial intelligence” and the Pentagon’s efforts to integrate AI during a dinner hosted by the National Artificial Intelligence Association tomorrow night, Jacob reports.
— Executives and top officials from Shield AI, Nvidia and Google Public Sector are expected to attend the event, dubbed “AI and The Warfighter: Defense Innovation Dinner,” at The Westin Arlington, according to a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to share not-yet-public details. It boasts sponsorships from top tech companies and defense contractors including Google, Oracle, HII, Akiak and Carahsoft.
— Hegseth’s remarks come amid an ongoing clash between the Pentagon and AI lab Anthropic. Hegseth has been among the more hawkish voices in the administration as others like David Sacks push the president to take more of a hands-off approach to the technology, POLITICO previously reported.
FIRST IN PI — BGR SNAGS APPROPS AIDE: Bipartisan lobby shop BGR Group has hired longtime Hill aide Joshua Grogis to help lead the firm’s appropriations practice, Jacob reports. Grogis, who spent more than two decades in the House — including most recently as a senior adviser to Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) — is joining the firm as a managing director. Grogis said he’s also looking forward to expanding BGR’s tribal engagement, including in Oklahoma.
— “Having worked for Mr. Cole for 20 years, I have had a lot of interactions and positive engagement, both politically and policy-oriented, with tribes all across the country, and have built some really quality relationships there,” Grogis told PI. “There’s just a lot of good that can be done there through awareness, so I think tribal representation, tribal practice and people that have understood their issues are always helpful to have around.”
FIRST IN PI — RAMASWAMY’S COVID LOBBYING: A biotech company founded by Vivek Ramaswamy spent more than $70,000 in 2020 and 2021 to lobby the federal government for the development and approval of Covid-19 drugs, Jacob reports.
— The previously unreported filings come to light as just about every aspect of the pandemic gets relitigated in the Ohio governor’s race between Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton, who led the state’s health department when Covid-19 first emerged. In that first year of the outbreak, Acton played a key role in decisions to close schools and polling locations — moves Ramaswamy has used to lambast her as “Dr. Lockdown.” He has also accused her of spreading “Covid ideology” and said that her role in the state’s response to the virus “disqualifies her” from being governor.
— Acton’s campaign says Ramaswamy’s rhetoric contradicts his actions as a biotech executive at the time. Democrats have also criticized another one of Ramaswamy’s companies that pushed for a national Covid registry that would have segregated Americans based on Covid-19 vaccine status during the pandemic. Ramaswamy also reportedly paid to have his role on the state’s Covid response team scrubbed from his Wikipedia page.
— Ramaswamy stepped down from Roivant’s leadership in February 2023. Ramaswamy’s campaign and Roivant didn’t respond to requests for comment.
SPOTTED last night at Shell’s celebration for America’s 250th birthday at the company’s K Street office: Colette Hirstius of Shell USA, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.) and Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Bill Ball of Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) office, Megan Bel Miller and Clara Cargile of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) office, Zach Monroe of Rep. Troy Carter’s (D-La.) office, Nancy Peele of Westerman’s office, Jonathan Brearley of the UK government, Jay Timmons and Chris Phalen of the National Association of Manufacturers, Mike Sommers and Kristin Whitman of the American Petroleum Institute, Eric Milito of the National Ocean Industries Association, Jeff Crane of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Jeff Turcotte of the Electric Power Supply Association, Amy Lawrence of American Airlines, Jamie Wall of ExxonMobil, Ninio Fetalvo of Michael Best Strategies, John Mulligan of Monument Advocacy, Jason Schendle of Alpine Group, Mike Henry of Acorn Consulting and Sarah Alexander of Mindset.
SPOTTED last night at Bobby Van’s Grille for a transportation sector dinner with Speaker Johnson hosted by Paul Sass, Transportation practice lead at Cassidy and Associates: Audrey Copeland, Patrick Nelson and Nile Elam of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, Olivia Widenhouse of CRH, Nicole Brewin of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, Priscila Calderon of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Henry Hanscom of the American Trucking Associations, Dean Franks of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Ashley Antoskiewicz of John Deere, Amy Lawrence of American Airlines, Todd Novascone of CEMEX, Daniel Hoff of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, Cameron Green of the American Traffic Safety Services Association, Ryan Brooks of Construction Partners, Bryan Jones of HNTB and Erich Ponti of the Louisiana Asphalt Pavement Association.
SPOTTED last night at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Capital Markets Summit in the Chamber’s Great Hall: Hester Peirce and Jim Moloney of the SEC, FDIC Chair Travis Hill, House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.), Terry Campbell of Nasdaq, Jim Febeo of Fidelity Investments, Keith Canton of J.P. Morgan, Kate Prochaska of Capital One and Brian Smith of Wells Fargo.
what else we're reading
— Top DOJ official planned to make a claim with Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’, per Daniel L.
— Food industry lines up behind House bill to deflect RFK Jr., per our colleague Amanda Chu
— CFTC proposes new prediction-market framework, per our colleague Jasper Goodman
flying in
Nearly 400 construction leaders and business owners were in Washington yesterday and today for Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2026 legislative conference. They met with lawmakers including Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.). They pushed Congress members to support the Fair and Open Competition Act, which would prohibit federal agencies from requiring or banning contractors from entering labor agreements.
Two dozen domestic manufacturing executives were in Washington yesterday and today for the American Medical Manufacturers Association’s fly-in. They had meetings scheduled with the offices of Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others, and pushed for increased funding for American-made personal protective equipment for the Strategic National Stockpile.
SNAC International, the leading trade association for the snack food industry, sent dozens of members to the Hill today to advocate for policies such as the PACK Act, which would create the first voluntary federal standard for environmental claims on packaging. They had meetings scheduled with lawmakers including the Agriculture panel chairs, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.).
Automaker workers hit the Hill today for Autos Drive America’s annual “drive-in.” Employees from BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo urged lawmakers to preserve trade and tax policies that support American manufacturing amid ongoing uncertainty around USMCA and tariffs. They had meetings scheduled with lawmakers including Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).
Jobs report
— The company’s researchers identified two clusters of ChatGPT users “likely originating from China” who used the AI chatbot to generate social media content promoting certain narratives about AI. This includes claims that data center build-outs are raising electricity costs for Americans and that President Donald Trump has weaponized tariffs to keep the U.S. ahead in the global tech race. The content was then posted by “batches of accounts” posing as Americans, said OpenAI’s Ben Nimmo during a press briefing on the report.
— The findings are likely to further fuel claims made by Republicans and others in the pro-AI camp that foreign entities have tried to meddle in the debate over AI data centers, which has become a policy flashpoint heading into the midterms. However, Nimmo also said “neither campaign appears to have gained much authentic engagement” and acknowledged the existing public backlash in the U.S.
— “There is a genuine debate going on in the states over the future of AI and data centers,” Nimmo said. “But what we don’t want to see is a covert foreign influence interference operation using the very same AI that it attacks.”
— Data center anxiety has resulted in dozens of proposed moratoriums at the local, state and national level. A POLITICO poll conducted by London-based independent polling partner Public First in January found that Americans are most concerned about rising electricity costs and the risk of blackouts when it comes to data center construction.
— A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send your latest tips, pitches and K Street goss to jwendler@politico.com and dbarnes@politico.com or message us on Signal at jwendler.89 and danielbarnes.13. And don’t forget to follow us on X at @jacob_wendler and @dnlbrns.
FIRST IN PI — HEGSETH’S AI SPEECH: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to deliver a speech on “the future of American defense in the age of artificial intelligence” and the Pentagon’s efforts to integrate AI during a dinner hosted by the National Artificial Intelligence Association tomorrow night, Jacob reports.
— Executives and top officials from Shield AI, Nvidia and Google Public Sector are expected to attend the event, dubbed “AI and The Warfighter: Defense Innovation Dinner,” at The Westin Arlington, according to a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to share not-yet-public details. It boasts sponsorships from top tech companies and defense contractors including Google, Oracle, HII, Akiak and Carahsoft.
— Hegseth’s remarks come amid an ongoing clash between the Pentagon and AI lab Anthropic. Hegseth has been among the more hawkish voices in the administration as others like David Sacks push the president to take more of a hands-off approach to the technology, POLITICO previously reported.
FIRST IN PI — BGR SNAGS APPROPS AIDE: Bipartisan lobby shop BGR Group has hired longtime Hill aide Joshua Grogis to help lead the firm’s appropriations practice, Jacob reports. Grogis, who spent more than two decades in the House — including most recently as a senior adviser to Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) — is joining the firm as a managing director. Grogis said he’s also looking forward to expanding BGR’s tribal engagement, including in Oklahoma.
— “Having worked for Mr. Cole for 20 years, I have had a lot of interactions and positive engagement, both politically and policy-oriented, with tribes all across the country, and have built some really quality relationships there,” Grogis told PI. “There’s just a lot of good that can be done there through awareness, so I think tribal representation, tribal practice and people that have understood their issues are always helpful to have around.”
FIRST IN PI — RAMASWAMY’S COVID LOBBYING: A biotech company founded by Vivek Ramaswamy spent more than $70,000 in 2020 and 2021 to lobby the federal government for the development and approval of Covid-19 drugs, Jacob reports.
— The previously unreported filings come to light as just about every aspect of the pandemic gets relitigated in the Ohio governor’s race between Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton, who led the state’s health department when Covid-19 first emerged. In that first year of the outbreak, Acton played a key role in decisions to close schools and polling locations — moves Ramaswamy has used to lambast her as “Dr. Lockdown.” He has also accused her of spreading “Covid ideology” and said that her role in the state’s response to the virus “disqualifies her” from being governor.
— Acton’s campaign says Ramaswamy’s rhetoric contradicts his actions as a biotech executive at the time. Democrats have also criticized another one of Ramaswamy’s companies that pushed for a national Covid registry that would have segregated Americans based on Covid-19 vaccine status during the pandemic. Ramaswamy also reportedly paid to have his role on the state’s Covid response team scrubbed from his Wikipedia page.
— Ramaswamy stepped down from Roivant’s leadership in February 2023. Ramaswamy’s campaign and Roivant didn’t respond to requests for comment.
SPOTTED last night at Shell’s celebration for America’s 250th birthday at the company’s K Street office: Colette Hirstius of Shell USA, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.) and Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Bill Ball of Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) office, Megan Bel Miller and Clara Cargile of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) office, Zach Monroe of Rep. Troy Carter’s (D-La.) office, Nancy Peele of Westerman’s office, Jonathan Brearley of the UK government, Jay Timmons and Chris Phalen of the National Association of Manufacturers, Mike Sommers and Kristin Whitman of the American Petroleum Institute, Eric Milito of the National Ocean Industries Association, Jeff Crane of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Jeff Turcotte of the Electric Power Supply Association, Amy Lawrence of American Airlines, Jamie Wall of ExxonMobil, Ninio Fetalvo of Michael Best Strategies, John Mulligan of Monument Advocacy, Jason Schendle of Alpine Group, Mike Henry of Acorn Consulting and Sarah Alexander of Mindset.
SPOTTED last night at Bobby Van’s Grille for a transportation sector dinner with Speaker Johnson hosted by Paul Sass, Transportation practice lead at Cassidy and Associates: Audrey Copeland, Patrick Nelson and Nile Elam of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, Olivia Widenhouse of CRH, Nicole Brewin of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, Priscila Calderon of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Henry Hanscom of the American Trucking Associations, Dean Franks of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Ashley Antoskiewicz of John Deere, Amy Lawrence of American Airlines, Todd Novascone of CEMEX, Daniel Hoff of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, Cameron Green of the American Traffic Safety Services Association, Ryan Brooks of Construction Partners, Bryan Jones of HNTB and Erich Ponti of the Louisiana Asphalt Pavement Association.
SPOTTED last night at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Capital Markets Summit in the Chamber’s Great Hall: Hester Peirce and Jim Moloney of the SEC, FDIC Chair Travis Hill, House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.), Terry Campbell of Nasdaq, Jim Febeo of Fidelity Investments, Keith Canton of J.P. Morgan, Kate Prochaska of Capital One and Brian Smith of Wells Fargo.
what else we're reading
— Top DOJ official planned to make a claim with Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’, per Daniel L.
— Food industry lines up behind House bill to deflect RFK Jr., per our colleague Amanda Chu
— CFTC proposes new prediction-market framework, per our colleague Jasper Goodman
flying in
Nearly 400 construction leaders and business owners were in Washington yesterday and today for Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2026 legislative conference. They met with lawmakers including Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.). They pushed Congress members to support the Fair and Open Competition Act, which would prohibit federal agencies from requiring or banning contractors from entering labor agreements.
Two dozen domestic manufacturing executives were in Washington yesterday and today for the American Medical Manufacturers Association’s fly-in. They had meetings scheduled with the offices of Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others, and pushed for increased funding for American-made personal protective equipment for the Strategic National Stockpile.
SNAC International, the leading trade association for the snack food industry, sent dozens of members to the Hill today to advocate for policies such as the PACK Act, which would create the first voluntary federal standard for environmental claims on packaging. They had meetings scheduled with lawmakers including the Agriculture panel chairs, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.).
Automaker workers hit the Hill today for Autos Drive America’s annual “drive-in.” Employees from BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo urged lawmakers to preserve trade and tax policies that support American manufacturing amid ongoing uncertainty around USMCA and tariffs. They had meetings scheduled with lawmakers including Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).
Jobs report