Speaker Mike Johnson called for top artificial intelligence leaders to meet with Congress and the White House to agree on safety legislation. This urgent request came during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” according to the New York Post. Johnson warned that advanced systems could pose an “end of humanity” threat if left unchecked.
He stated that the United States cannot afford to cede ground to China in this race. The Speaker argued that the government must move quickly to address these growing dangers. Johnson said, “We have to do this right, safely and wisely,” per reports, according to the New York Post.
Johnson insisted that AI leaders, lawmakers, and the White House need to come together immediately. Their goal is to “figure out what the right balance is,” he told CNN. This balance involves national security while ensuring the models themselves remain safe for everyone.
He explicitly rejected the idea of a pause on development. “We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us,” Johnson said. He noted that this is the main challenge facing the nation today.
The world deserves confidence that American companies developing increasingly capable AI will act responsibly, especially as the trajectory of progress has steepened. Every frontier lab must deliver on this, and there is no reason any of us should come to work if we cannot.
We…
— Sam Altman (@sama) September 14, 2026
These comments arrived just two days after House Democrats urged Johnson to cancel recess. They cited a “catastrophic risk posed by advanced artificial intelligence” in their request, according to reports. The Speaker’s call for action suggests he agrees on the need for oversight.
However, he drew a clear line against stopping progress entirely. A total halt would allow China to surpass American technology, he argued. The focus remains on creating rules rather than shutting down innovation.
There are two ways AI progress could go very badly and that we must avoid.
First, we could lose control of the future to AI. This is unacceptable; we are unapologetically on Team Humanity, and AI must always serve people. To ensure that, we need ways to ensure that alignment and… https://t.co/GK7XcoOh3v
— Sam Altman (@sama) September 14, 2026
The immediate next step is a meeting between government officials and tech executives. Johnson wants these groups to sit down and draft specific safety laws. No date has been set for this gathering yet, per reports.
