'Our inaction will be unforgivable': Bipartisan letter urges Mike Johnson to suspend legislative recess to regulate AI amid growing global concern

In a strongly worded letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican and Democratic lawmakers are demanding that the legislative recess be suspended until Congress regulates or approves safeguards for artificial intelligence, Axios reported Friday.

"To our children who will have read a post-apocalyptic history, 'Why Congress Slept' — likely written by agentic AI — our inaction will be inexplicable, and unforgivable," the lawmakers wrote, echoing recent news that has sparked global anxiety and alarm regarding cybersecurity, out-of-control agents, and the frenetic advance of AI.

The letter comes just days after current and former Anthropic researchers publicly warned that AI could pose an existential risk to humanity within the next decade. The string of allegations began with a researcher and former employee of OpenAI and Anthropic, Jacob Coxon, and a security chief at Anthropic itself, Evan Hubinger, whose posts went viral after they estimated the probability that the technology could end up killing the entire human race at over 10%.

Subsequently, a 154-page report was revealed in which Anthropic confirmed that Iran, the Houthis, China, and Russia had already attempted to use its Claude model for military and espionage purposes; and this very Friday, Joe Benton, another former researcher on Anthropic's security team, submitted his own resignation with another warning: "We may not survive this."

The letter, drafted by Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) and co-signed by George Whitesides, Lori Trahan, and Ted Lieu, argues for "urgent action" to "address catastrophic risk posed by advanced artificial intelligence." The text calls on the House to "return to Washington immediately and remain in session until Congress advances meaningful, bipartisan AI safeguards." According to the document, the House resumes business on Monday, but has only one more week of work scheduled before leaving for a month-and-a-half recess, with a return not expected until November 9.

"You can forgive every American who believes that Congress remains unserious about confronting our nation's most pressing challenges," the letter states, contrasting the magnitude of the warnings with the current legislative agenda.

Despite growing pressure from rank-and-file lawmakers, congressional leadership remained silent. According to Axios, Johnson plans to bring a bill to a vote next week to curb the impact of data centers on Americans' electricity bills, but gave no indication that the House of Representatives will vote on any AI regulation before the November elections. A spokesperson for Johnson did not respond to the media outlet's inquiries.

The letter also lists bipartisan bills already introduced that, according to the signatories, "deserve consideration, public debate, thoughtful amendment, and action." Among them is the AI Off Switch Act, sponsored by Lieu and Republican Nathaniel Moran, which would require all artificial intelligence systems to include a mechanism that allows humans to slow them down or shut them down. They also mention the FRONTIER Act, proposed by Trahan alongside Republican Jay Obernolte, which aims to create a national regulatory framework for developing new AI models.