Alex Gonzalez, Public News Service (AZ)
As President Donald Trump’s budget reconciliation bill sees an uphill battle in the U.S. Senate, a government watchdog group is raising concerns about what it called “hidden provisions” in the bill.
Arizona is one of 20 states to enact laws to regulate artificial intelligence technology, as Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has cited the use of AI “deepfakes” as a top concern for election officials. A provision in the big budget bill would put a 10-year moratorium on state and local governments’ regulating AI use in political campaigns and elections.
Catherine Hinckley Kelley, senior director of policy and strategic partnerships for the Campaign Legal Center, said it would derail progress in Arizona.
“States have acted but now with this provision in the reconciliation bill, states would be unable to enforce those laws and limit the use of AI in elections,” Hinckley Kelley explained.
Congress has not passed its own AI regulation bill. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., usually a fierce Trump supporter, has said she would not have voted for the reconciliation bill if she had known about the AI provision. She thinks it would violate states’ rights.
The Campaign Legal Center said the other provision of concern would weaken the power of federal judges to enforce contempt charges when government officials defy court orders. It comes after federal courts have thwarted some of Trump’s policy decisions.
Trevor Potter, founder and president of the Campaign Legal Center, pointed out the Founding Fathers were trying to prevent a president from “behaving like a king” when they established three separate but equal branches of government.
“What’s happened here is that members of the Republican Party in Congress think their job is, or their duty is, to support the presidency, whatever they do, and not act as a check on the presidency,” Potter outlined.
Trump has repeatedly attacked judges who oppose his policies and his administration has refused to abide by some orders, even those issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. Potter believes the White House is trying to expand and consolidate executive powers over Congress and the courts, which he believes poses major risks to American democracy and the rule of law.
