OpenAI’s chief lobbyist is on Capitol Hill today, continuing a lobbying offensive that has seen the company pour more than $2.22 million into influencing AI legislation in just the first six months of 2026. That figure represents a sharp escalation from prior periods and underscores how seriously the company takes the regulatory battles now unfolding across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.
The meeting comes at a pivotal moment. Congress is under pressure to pass federal AI safety guidelines before adjournment, several major states are advancing their own frameworks, and across the Atlantic, OpenAI is pushing the UK to adopt binding safety laws.
The reverse federalism playbook
OpenAI’s domestic strategy has a name that sounds like it belongs in a political science textbook: reverse federalism. Rather than waiting for Congress to set a single federal standard, the company is backing state-level regulations that align with its preferred framework, building momentum from the ground up.
Chris Lehane, who leads OpenAI’s policy strategy, has described the goal as creating de facto national standards through coordinated state policies.
