Washington, DC

1. Demands for AI guardrails
2. Dem’s AI liability plan
3. Gaza, three years on
4. Trump in Texas
5. Trump Accounts scrutiny
6. Election integrity divide

PDB: More than 500 US citizens detained in Trump 2, report finds 

Rubio speaks in Greece … Obama fundraises for Senate Democrats … Fed publishes minutes from September meeting

AI safety coalition lays out demands

A coalition of nearly 40 labor, progressive, faith, and AI safety groups is laying out demands for AI legislation in Congress, warning lawmakers that any bill that crosses their red lines will face “active, mobilized opposition,” according to a letter shared first with Semafor, Ashley Gold scoops. The letter is spearheaded by Guardrails Action, the nonprofit affiliated with the Guardrails Alliance super PAC launched in June as a counterweight to pro-AI election groups. The group is calling for “independent, transparent government oversight” and “a mandate that addresses human impacts from safety to economic disruption.” They also want to ensure that “AI models are not making final decisions” on issues like healthcare and weapons. “We want members of Congress and 2028 candidates to know that it’s not enough to come to the table with half measures,” said Maya Handa, a senior adviser at Guardrails and former adviser to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Democrat rolls out AI liability proposal

A leading House Democrat is rolling out draft legislation to clarify liability for AI developers when their agents cause harm in direct response to the rogue AI hack of Hugging Face earlier this year. According to an announcement shared first with Semafor, Massachusetts Rep. Lori Trahan’s “CLAIM Act” would make it easier for third parties to sue AI developers while clarifying questions around intent related to AI agents’ conduct. “When someone breaks the law and hurts you, you can take them to court. That shouldn’t change just because the wrongdoer is an AI agent,” Trahan said. Trahan, who previously joined Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., in a bipartisan push to draft AI regulations, is framing the liability push as a way to incentivize AI developers to embrace safety. The legislation would also set a federal floor, rather than preempt state laws.

— Nicholas Wu

Gaza peace still elusive, three years on

Three years since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, the path toward long-term peace in Gaza remains murky. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace unveiled a $2.45 billion Gaza recovery plan at a recent meeting, but the endeavor’s eventual goals — getting Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw, and then rebuilding Gaza — remain far out of reach. The Gaza war is one of multiple conflicts vexing the Trump administration, which has also struggled to wind down the Iran war and Russia’s assault on Ukraine. The Oct. 7 attacks “were a horrific atrocity, and we remember all the victims who were killed at the hands of Hamas,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said. “Three years later, there is a ceasefire, all hostages are home, and President Trump remains committed to ensuring Hamas can never pose this kind of threat again.”

— Morgan Chalfant

Trump heads to Texas, Maine a question

With less than one month until the midterms, Trump is keeping people guessing about his exact travel plans. The president is in Texas today and New York later this week, before taking an expected swing out West next week. He’s also likely to visit battleground states, including Michigan and Iowa, a Republican official familiar with the plans said. But others, like Maine, remain an open question. Trump this week suggested he may visit the state, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins — who has tried to walk a fine line with the president — faces a tough reelection race, but no formal trip has been announced. Meanwhile, his Texas visit will have one notable absence: GOP Gov. Greg Abbott is skipping the rally. Trump allies aren’t taking it personally. “He spoke at the convention in Dallas,” the Republican official said. “We’re not going to hold it against him.”

— Shelby Talcott

Trump Account changes could take heat

The Trump administration’s recent changes to Trump Accounts could come under fire from the next Congress if Democrats win a majority. The Treasury Department moved last week to automatically enroll tens of millions of children and greenlight donations of individual stocks as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touts the accounts ahead of midterms. But Democrats believe that the individual stocks lack statutory authority and that the automatic enrollment could prevent savers with religious or other concerns with the stocks from opting out, House aides told Semafor. Libertarians expressed similar reservations: “There’s more than enough information available to people” that they “can decide on their own,” the Cato Institute’s Norbert Michel told Semafor. “It’s just not the case that the fact that they have something makes them better off.” The Treasury Department did not return a request for comment.

— Eleanor Mueller

Dems more confident in election integrity

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to have confidence in the honesty of US elections, despite Trump and his party controlling Washington. Sixty-three percent of Democrats say they have confidence in election integrity, according to Gallup polling, compared with 37% of Republicans and just 35% of independents. For the first time this year, the Americans who disapprove of current US leadership are much more likely to have confidence in US elections than those who approve of it. The polling punctuates widespread Democratic warnings about Trump laying the groundwork for interfering in the midterm elections by asserting more control over mail-in voting and dispatching Justice Department monitors to polling places. It also makes the US an outlier: In the more than 100 countries Gallup polled, people who approve of the country’s leaders almost always have higher confidence in election integrity than those who disapprove.

Blindspot: Cars and ICE

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets.

What the Left isn’t reading: A report shared with Fox News claimed that University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers helped the Chinese government develop monitoring technology for connected cars.

What the Right isn’t reading: A former FBI employee filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that the Trump administration pressured the bureau for an unconstitutional probe of anti-ICE protesters in California, NBC News reported. 

Technology is at an inflection point. From AI to the forces reshaping business, science and daily life, the pace of change is accelerating. Future Proof from Semafor Technology offers a direct look at the breakthroughs, risks, and questions defining what comes next. Hosted by Semafor San Francisco Bureau Chief Reed Albergotti, each episode features conversations with the builders, policymakers, and industry leaders shaping how technology is developed, adopted, and governed.

In Future Proof’s debut episode, Cognition CISO and former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos takes aim at Silicon Valley’s “nihilism” and separates AI’s real risks from those he sees as imagined, fueled by “almost religious beliefs.” Plus, he talks about how he plans to tackle cybersecurity’s coming “dark age” and why Aaron Sorkin’s version of Mark Zuckerberg wouldn’t attract employees.

White House

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, under mounting pressure to implement the president’s economic agenda, has repeatedly dressed down staff. — WSJ
• The Office of Management and Budget is using footnotes in federal funding apportionments to strong-arm the Smithsonian into conforming its content to President Trump’s “preferred version of history.” — The Atlantic
• The Justice Department told employees to use Trump’s preferred name for AI, “super intelligence.”

Congress

• Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., is angling to be the top Democrat on the House’s education committee, in another challenge to ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va. — Politico
• House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., expressed his frustration with the Senate at a fundraiser: “Don’t just keep telling me, ‘Don’t have the votes. Don’t have the votes.’ You suck.” — Axios

Outside the Beltway

• Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates will lead a review into sexual misconduct on Cornell’s campus.
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for removing President Trump under the 25th Amendment after he joked that he’d let Iran “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.
• Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced a bipartisan group for governors to discuss AI safety.

Campaigns

• Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins was on the defensive over her voting record in her first debate with Democratic challenger Troy Jackson; their next bout is tomorrow.

Business

• Trucking groups are unimpressed with President Trump’s order expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel. — Politico