Democrats are projected to control both chambers of Congress after Tuesday's midterm elections, giving them subpoena power that lawmakers say they will use on artificial intelligence companies, CNBC reported Wednesday. For AI developers and the companies that rely on their models, the result points to hearings and document demands in 2027, even if sweeping federal AI legislation stays out of reach.
What Happened
CNBC's Election Desk projects Democrats will win at least 245 House seats, well past the 218 needed, and at least 51 Senate seats, the minimum for control, according to its live results page. Some races remain uncalled.
Control of House committees brings the power to open investigations and issue subpoenas, which CNBC said will challenge tech companies. "AI company CEOs should be called to testify under oath," said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the presumptive next chair of the House Oversight Committee, said "Lawyer up" in a statement, CNBC reported.
In a CNBC Voter Poll, 56% of voters said data centers were a crucial or major factor in their vote. Crypto, AI and online gambling interests put more than $377 million into races this cycle, according to a CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission records. Fortune reported that American Mission, the Republican arm of the Leading the Future super PAC network, spent about $2.7 million backing Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, who lost to Democrat Annie Andrews.
Why It Matters
Fortune AI editor Jeremy Kahn wrote before the results that a Democratic Congress would be more likely to pursue federal AI rules and to investigate AI companies' safety and security practices. He noted that President Donald Trump is expected to veto AI regulation and that overriding a veto takes two-thirds of both chambers, so any law would need broad bipartisan support; he wrote that the bipartisan Frontier Act had looked like the bill with the best odds. Kahn cited Sen. Elizabeth Warren's letter to Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei about risks disclosed in the company's initial public offering prospectus as an example of the scrutiny ahead.
Compliance, government-affairs and legal teams at AI developers and large AI users should prepare for testimony requests and document demands. Reuters reported that some investors worry tighter scrutiny could slow the AI sector's growth. "The blue wave means the federal government is sure to be divided on most issues," Deborah Cunningham of Federated Hermes told Reuters.
Context
Whether federal rules should override state AI laws, known as preemption, remains unsettled. The Primary Wire reported in October, citing Reuters, that Leading the Future backed candidates including Kentucky Senate hopeful Andy Barr, who supports preemption, while an Anthropic-funded group opposes it. The publication also reported Monday, citing Axios, that OpenAI plans to press Congress for mandatory "speed limits" on its most powerful systems.
What to Watch
New members are sworn in Jan. 3. Before then, the lame-duck Congress must decide whether to renew the 2015 cyber threat-sharing law, which expires Dec. 11, as The Primary Wire reported Monday, citing CyberScoop. After January, watch committee chair assignments and whether a Frontier Act-style bill draws enough votes from both parties to survive a veto.
