Johnson supports AI safeguards while opposing an emergency moratorium

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives speaking on CNN's State of the Union.

We need to debate and deliberate and research what the best way there is to go to put guardrails, some safety in place to make sure that A.I. doesn't get out of control. ... We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us.
Illustration of the U.S. Capitol framed by an abstract AI network and transparent protective dome
Credit: The Dispute Index

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Should Washington impose stronger safeguards on frontier AI?

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Source and context

Interview

Mike Johnson discusses AI safeguards and a moratorium on CNN (opens in a new tab)Transcript lines 35–65; aired 9–10 a.m. ET

About this source

CNN transcript of Speaker Mike Johnson's September 13 State of the Union interview. Johnson supports congressional guardrails and safety measures but opposes an emergency moratorium, citing competition with China.

Before the quotation

During a September 13 CNN interview, Johnson was asked about calls to slow AI development and impose safeguards.

After the quotation

Johnson proposed bringing companies, regulators, and policymakers together.

Mixed or conditional
How this statement is classified

Mixed or conditional because Johnson calls for guardrails and safety measures but rejects an emergency moratorium and frames the decision as a balance with national-security competition.

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Chuck Schumer

NEW 🚨 I’m calling on the Trump admin to provide an all-Senators briefing on the dangers of unchecked AI development—and to explain its lack of action to protect our country. We need a full accounting of their framework for testing AI models. We need clear answers on how we’ll defend against AI-enabled cyberattacks. And we need to know the steps being taken to prevent China from accessing our most advanced AI chips and equipment.
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Sam Altman

We welcome a federal framework that sets consistent safety requirements for frontier AI. ... No amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring.
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