‘As toxic as AIPAC’: Progressive leader wants Dems to reject AI cash

Aug. 7, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

As Republicans and Democrats sort through new federal policies regulating the Artificial Intelligence industry, a leading progressive on Capitol Hill is calling on presidential candidates in his party to reject donations from AI billionaires, arguing it’s a chance for Democrats to draw a clear contrast with Republicans on what he says could be the “defining issue” of this election cycle and the next.

In an interview with MS NOW this week, Rep. Greg Casar of Texas — the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — called recent protests against data centers “just the initial tremors of the earthquake that’s coming if people start losing their jobs in a big way.”

“If someone wants to win the presidential nomination, they should start taking these cues now,” Casar said.

Specifically, Casar wants Democrats to refuse the help of Leading the Future — a prominent pro-AI super PAC — and “AI billionaires that are lobbying for no regulation.”