A think tank with deep ties to the White House on Monday will announce a $10 million initiative to develop artificial intelligence policies aimed at supporting workers, as a debate over tech regulation divides President Donald Trump’s supporters.
The plan signals an effort to equip the GOP with MAGA-friendly messaging and policy on the emerging technology, amid growing worries that artificial intelligence could automate jobs, increase unemployment and drive up energy costs for consumers. To date, the president’s rhetoric on artificial intelligence has largely aligned with that of tech industry leaders, as he warns that U.S. companies need to quickly develop AI tools to remain competitive with China.
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a powerful conservative think tank that served as a holding house for top Trump officials in the years between his administrations, is developing the nascent plan. During Trump’s time out of office, AFPI developed immigration, trade and taxation policies that the administration quickly implemented when Trump returned to power. Half a dozen Trump Cabinet secretaries have ties to the organization, which was founded by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
As described by AFPI staffers, the strategy will focus on creating high-paying manufacturing jobs, protecting children from the dangers of AI and preventing foreign adversaries from deploying the technology against American people.
Chris Stewart, a former Republican congressman who chairs the initiative, described the plan as the first comprehensive effort to prioritize American workers in the race to develop AI. He acknowledged tension inside the GOP as factions of the party lobby for deregulation while others urge the White House to focus on people whose jobs may be replaced by the technology.
“If we ignore the economic implications, that will be at our peril, and I think the president knows that as well,” Stewart said. “We’re just barely beginning to put out really good ideas and put forth policies that will help us.”
Stewart declined to share additional details about the plan, stressing it’s in early phases. The think tank will officially announce details of its AI agenda at an event in December, describing the plan as a “three-year initiative,” according to a release.
Tech regulation has splintered the MAGA movement in recent weeks, a key crack in the diverse coalition that Trump has for the most part controlled during the first 10 months of his presidency. Frequently surrounded by donors from the tech industry, Trump has been vocal about his desire to slash regulations to speed AI development and defended companies that say they need foreign workers who know how to manufacture chips, batteries and other products. The comments have alienated more populist members of his coalition, who see the technology as a threat to American jobs and want to see the Trump administration do more to protect their interests.
The divisions have emerged as politicians are bracing for artificial intelligence to become a more prominent issue for voters in elections, especially amid broader concerns about affordability and employment. In a Fox News survey published last week, 58 percent of respondents said they believed AI will eliminate more jobs than it will create in the next five years. Voter anger over rising electricity bills played a key role in races Democrats won in New Jersey, Virginia and Georgia this year, as the expansion of energy-hungry data centers that develop AI drives up demand for power.
The AI boom is central to Trump’s economic message, as investment in the technology drives the stock market gains he often touts in speeches. Many of the domestic investments he celebrates are in data center construction. But few companies have deployed the technology broadly across their operations, and AI frequently makes mistakes — contributing to fears of a bubble.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week both said that they supported states rights’ to set their own AI policies, as Trump officials work on an executive order to crack down on states with strict AI regulations. Greene, who announced her resignation from Congress on Friday night, has also criticized the White House’s policies on high-skilled immigration.
The White House’s executive order aims to prevent states from enacting “onerous” AI laws, according to a draft of the order viewed by The Washington Post. The order would restrict federal funding for states that develop their own AI regulations and direct the Justice Department to challenge state laws regulating the technology on the grounds that they interfere with interstate commerce. However, the order will probably face legal challenges because some groups say it is unconstitutional to supersede state laws through an executive order.
Stewart and Yusuf Mahmood, the AI policy director at AFPI, said they support Trump’s policies but also said the White House appears to be “listening to some concerns” about preemption.
“I don’t think anyone at the White House has staked out a very intransigent position on this,” Stewart said. “I think they understand that states’ rights are important.”
The order aligns the Trump White House with policies supported by tech investors and large companies, which warn that a patchwork of 50 different state AI policies would stifle innovation. Two of Trump’s Silicon Valley supporters, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, earlier this year launched a $100 million PAC to thwart candidates who support federal and state AI legislation that would be burdensome for businesses. Many of the companies seeking to limit state AI laws are donors to Trump’s ballroom and inauguration funds.
Economists say there aren’t yet strong signs that AI is driving widespread layoffs across industries. An October study from the Yale Budget Lab found no “discernible disruption” to the broader labor market since the 2022 release of ChatGPT. But employees are increasingly augmenting their work with the technology, and CEOs under shareholder pressure to maintain lean workforces are increasingly citing AI as a factor in layoffs.
Some of the country’s largest employers, including Amazon and Microsoft, have slashed thousands of jobs this year as they say they are restructuring their workforces for the AI boom. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Recent college graduates have also faced a hiring crunch caused in part by the technology.
The unemployment rate for college graduates ages 22 to 27 jumped to 5.3 percent in the six months ending in May, up from 4.4 percent for the same period a year earlier, according to a Washington Post analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. A new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found an uncertain job market for recent graduates, with a 1.6 percent increase in hiring for the Class of 2026 compared with the Class of 2025.
Stewart said AFPI’s goal is to develop policies that make the economic transition created by AI “easier” for workers, but at this stage, he had few specific ideas to share about how that could be accomplished.
The White House’s approach to AI has largely been developed by staffers with deep ties to the tech industry. Venture capitalist David Sacks has served as the White House’s AI and crypto czar while still actively working as a tech investor. Michael Kratsios, a former executive at Scale AI, and Sriram Krishnan, a former general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, have also played key roles in developing the administration’s AI executive orders and plan.
In July, the administration released an AI plan and executive orders that aimed to remove existing regulatory barriers to the technology. The plan also included some provisions aimed at protecting workers, including directing the Labor Department to leverage available funding to help workers whose jobs are displaced by AI develop new skills.
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