House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday pressed House GOP leaders to cancel the upcoming recess and keep lawmakers in Washington to confront the mounting risks posed by artificial intelligence, arguing that recent warnings from top industry figures should jolt Congress into action.
Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, Jeffries said the calls for a slowdown from within the AI sector are a clear signal that lawmakers can no longer "dabble at the edges" of regulation. He did not endorse specific proposals but insisted that the House should delay its long pre-election break "until something is done decisively to protect the safety and the well-being of the American people."
Jeffries accused Republicans of abdicating their legislative responsibility on AI. "Republicans have completely abandoned their responsibility to legislate and engage in public policy efforts in a responsible fashion in the area of artificial intelligence," he said.
The push is unlikely to succeed. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has scheduled the House to adjourn Thursday and remain in recess through the Nov. 3 elections. He has rejected calls for rapid regulation, warning that overreach would hamstring U.S. tech firms and hand an advantage to global rivals. "The reflex of legislative bodies is to cover things up with red tape and in hyperregulation," Johnson told reporters Monday. "If you do that, then you lose your edge."
The standoff comes as public anxiety about AI and the energy-hungry data centers that power it increasingly shapes midterm campaigns. Over the weekend, three prominent AI leaders—Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman—urged a more cautious approach to development. Amodei warned in a lengthy blog post that unchecked progress could lead to global catastrophe.
President Trump has strongly backed data centers and opposed AI regulation, stances that put him at odds with most voters, according to recent polls. Democrats are seizing on the issue to paint the president and GOP leaders as out of touch. "They're not really concerned about over-regulation. They want no regulation," Jeffries said. "And that's the height of irresponsibility."
Jeffries noted that in the previous Congress, he and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had launched a bipartisan AI task force aimed at balancing innovation with public safety. That panel was disbanded when the new Congress convened—a move Jeffries blamed on Trump's return to the White House. "Republicans in this Congress, at the direction of Donald Trump, detonated that bipartisan effort and endangered the health and the safety and the well-being of the American people in doing so," he said.
The political stakes are rising as the midterms approach, with control of both chambers in play. Democrats are leveraging the AI debate to argue that Republicans are prioritizing corporate interests over public protection. Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to resist any pause in AI development, calling regulation a trap for U.S. competitiveness, a stance that aligns with Johnson's reluctance to act.
Jeffries' latest comments build on his broader critique of GOP leadership, and he has previously signaled openness to impeachment proceedings if Democrats retake the House. For now, the focus remains on pressuring Republicans to stay in session and address AI risks before voters head to the polls.
