MORNING REPORT

Monday, September 21 | By Jared Gans

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In today's issue:

▪ New AI czar to be named

▪ Outlets sue over White House ban

▪ Trump adds security angle to arch

▪ Russia holds wartime elections

Trump plans 'AI force' as pressure for action rises

President Trump is responding to the rising demands to impose guardrails on AI with the creation of an "AI Force," even as he argues the broader concerns about the technology running rampant are a "hoax."

The president announced Saturday that he would launch the body, which he compared to the U.S. Space Force created during his first term, but provided few details about its makeup or responsibilities. He said he would also appoint an AI "czar" to oversee the administration's handling of the developing technology.

This would be the second person to hold that role in the administration, as venture capitalist David Sacks previously served in the position. He stepped down in March.

"We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows! However, we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant also laid the groundwork for more global cooperation on AI in talks with his Chinese counterparts in New York on Sunday, NBC News reported. He told reporters that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would discuss a mechanism for alerting each other of potential national security issues related to AI, as part of ongoing U.S.-China dialogue on the technology.

Trump has shunned calls for regulation of the industry, despite leaders of the country's powerful frontier AI firms urging the government to take action. Several current and former AI researchers warned earlier this month that out-of-control AI could result in humanity's destruction in the next decade or even sooner.

Trump has emphasized that the U.S. cannot lose the AI race with China. He said last week that "guardrails" could be put in place, but a "lot of negative forces" are "bringing up things that won't happen."

Even as the president announced his moves on AI this weekend, he continued to push back on the backlash, grouping the "decimation" caused by AI as one of several "hoaxes" created by the Democrats, such as his past impeachments and climate change.

But polling has shown concerns about AI has been a rare unifying issue across the political spectrum. One poll from July showed Americans were nearly three times as likely to be concerned as excited about the potential effects of AI, with Democrats and Republicans providing similar results.

A Politico poll released Wednesday showed almost two-thirds of Americans believe AI poses at least a "moderate" risk of destroying humanity, including a majority of respondents who voted for Trump and a majority who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

Trump seemed to acknowledge the unease with a poll of his followers on Truth Social earlier on Saturday about finding a new name for AI, reasoning that "the words 'artificial intelligence' are inaccurate." He pitched "Superior Intelligence," "Extreme Intelligence" and "Supreme Intelligence" as possible alternatives.

The president's critics have been eager to pounce on his approach to the technology.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) cast doubt on the effectiveness of Trump's AI force during an appearance on CBS News's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

“I mean, I don’t know what President Trump’s vision is, I don’t know if he’s using AI in an offensive capability, which would give me a lot of pause,” Khanna said.

The congressman added that an AI agency similar to the Food and Drug Administration needs to be set up.

Former President Obama also slammed Trump's approach during a Friday interview at Colgate University. He noted Trump's remark that AI regulations are for "losers."

“So we’ve got a gap of at least a couple of years where things are moving really fast, and we have an administration that is not capable of or willing to — I would argue both — putting together a serious regulatory framework,” he said.

The focus on AI will be a backdrop of Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the U.S. this week, The Hill's Laura Kelly reports. He's expected to meet with Trump on Wednesday for the start of his state visit.

Khanna said an "international agreement" must be reached with Xi to have standards including international monitoring and checks through data centers.

“Now, obviously, you can’t just trust the Chinese, but like any agreement, like an arms control agreement, as [former President] Reagan said, you need to trust and verify, and the world has done this before,” he said.

▪ NewsNation: Some experts say AI singularity closer than ever.

▪ CNN: Military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report.

3 Things to Know Today

A federal immigration agent shot and injured a man in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. The man was taken to the hospital in unknown condition.
Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) at the mayor’s house, focusing on issues “affecting New York City and New Yorkers.” The two politicians, despite coming from opposite sides of the spectrum, have enjoyed a cordial relationship while in office.
Trump reversed a decision to launch strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday, just as the military was preparing to begin a wave of attacks at the request of Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reported.

LEADING THE DAY

LOCKOUT: The three media outlets banned from White House grounds on Friday are suing the Trump administration.

“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” CNN, MS NOW and Politico said in a joint statement on Monday.

“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” they added. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

All three outlets said Saturday that their journalists were denied access to the White House and had their credentials confiscated. Trump said he made the decision not because of any specific story or issue but as a "result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS."

He said additional news outlets could be banned in the future.

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), National Press Club and Knight First Amendment Institute all also denounced the administration's move.

"The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably," WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich said in a statement. "That’s why courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting."

▪ The Hill: Wes Moore says Trump uses Constitution as ‘suggestion box.’

▪ Politico: Inside the White House media ban.

NEW ANGLE: Trump said a "top grade military complex" will be part of the triumphal arch bridging Washington, D.C., and Virginia, a change he said was made at the military's request for "National Security purposes."

Trump said on Truth Social that the complex will house snipers and drones on the roof and plaza areas.

The announcement comes as the arch, one of the president's beautification projects in the nation's capital, is facing a legal challenge from Vietnam War veterans, arguing the administration is seeking to move forward without requisite congressional approval.

The shift from Trump echoes a similar approach that his administration has taken with his White House ballroom project, arguing that it's necessary for security reasons.

If built, the arch would be 250 feet tall, running along the Arlington Memorial Bridge and across from Arlington National Cemetery.

▪ The Hill: FAA says arch will require ‘eternal flame’ to alert pilots.

▪ ABC News: Trump’s arch construction could run 20 hours a day.

DECISION TIME: Trump is raising the prospect that he could order a major offensive against Iran soon, suggesting "very big things" will happen in the "not-so-distant future."

Fox News's Trey Yingst reported that Trump is in a "deciding mode."

“The president described the current choices on the table as ‘wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically or making a deal,’” Yingst said. “He added, ‘My question is if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They better behave.’”

Trump previously told Axios that he's weighing whether to "go in and annihilate" the Iranian regime.

The president has mostly taken an approach of economic pressure in recent weeks to try to force Iranian leaders back to the negotiating table. The eruption of fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen has threatened to pull the U.S. into a new front of the war.

Trump is reportedly expected to meet with six Persian Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week. The administration is also allowing a "core delegation" of Iranian officials to attend the session in New York.

▪ The Hill: Kevin Hassett says Trump ‘had to act’ on Iran.

▪ Reuters: U.S., Iran trade threats after Houthi attacks escalate.

CLOSING IN: The Senate is looking to achieve final passage of a major college sports bill that would create national rules for athletes, coaches and the NCAA.

The Protect College Sports Act would enact several provisions to set regulations for the NCAA, including protecting the organization from antitrust lawsuits, establishing caps on revenue sharing and allowing schools to have retention funds for star players.

It would also require agents to register with a state before representing student-athletes, set a five-year window for athletic eligibility, and limit transfers and mid-season coaching moves.

The legislation has yielded opposition from the AFL-CIO, NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus, but it advanced in the Senate comfortably, 74-24, last week.

As The Hill's Dominick Mastrangelo reports for Insider, the bill faces an uphill battle in the House when the lower chamber returns after the midterms.

▪ The Hill Insider: Attention shifts to Senate with House out of town.

WHEN & WHERE

The president participates in a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:45 p.m. before heading to New York. Later, he will meet separately with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and French President Emmanuel Macron at 4:10 p.m. and 5:35 p.m., respectively. At 6 p.m., Trump will participate in a Republican National Committee reception followed by a MAGA Inc. dinner.
The House will convene at 10:30 a.m. for a pro forma session. ·
The Senate is out.

ZOOM IN

BUYOUT PUSHBACK: A new round of scrutiny is rising on the defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) following a report that nearly $7 billion was spent for staff to not work.

A Government Accountability Office report estimated that the Trump administration spent $6.7 billion on administrative leave as former DOGE head Elon Musk pushed for widespread buyouts across the federal government.

Employees who accepted a buyout were paid through the end of the fiscal year. Some still received paychecks even though they hadn’t been working for months.

The Hill's Rebecca Beitsch reports lawmakers from the D.C. area view the report as a referendum on Trump and Musk's culling of the workforce under the guise of efficiency.

“First of all, how stupid was it to pay people to stay home for four or five months — or longer — getting paid, and they don’t have to do anything, and we’ve robbed the American people of the services they were providing,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), whose district saw 20,000 constituents lose their jobs in the early days of the Trump administration.

The report found salary costs tied to paid leave jumped six times between 2023 and 2025, while the total number of paid administrative leave days rose from 4 million before Trump to 21.6 million last year.

The $6.7 billion spent on buyouts is part of the total $9.5 billion used on paid leave, the report states.

"It was a one-time expense. What did the taxpayer get for it? Using rough averages, the fully loaded cost of a federal employee is about $150,000 per year. For 270,000 employees, that is more than $40 billion in annual costs. These are not one-time costs, but costs incurred every year in perpetuity," Scott Kupor, the director of the Office of Personnel Management, wrote in a blog post.

But Beitsch reports that critics say the administration isn't taking other aspects into account, including that 20,000 people were hired to backfill the roles of those who took a buyout. Advocates and lawmakers said these individuals come with less experience.

▪ Fortune: Former IRS head questions DOGE’s objective.

ELSEWHERE

OCCUPIED ELECTIONS: Over the weekend, Russia began its first legislative elections since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — including in Ukrainian territory that it now occupies.

Voting began on Friday for more than 110 million eligible voters, including in four Ukrainian provinces that Russia has annexed but don't fully control — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. It also held elections in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Kyiv denounced the elections as illegitimate and called on foreign governments not to recognize the results.

The outcome of the elections was virtually all but certain, as the races featured nominal opposition at best to Russian President Vladimir Putin's party and policies. The Kremlin is hoping to use the elections to demonstrate popular support for the war, stifling dissent to prevent any risks.

The main party, United Russia, was widely expected to maintain its dominant control of the lower house of the Kremlin, the Duma. The only party that openly criticized the war was removed from the ballot.

The elections came as the State Department approved a potential $2.6 billion air defense equipment sale to Ukraine on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Trump at the U.N. General Assembly this week.

▪ The Hill: Trump signs Russia sanctions bill.

▪ The Hill: U.S. strikes security deal with Greenland, Denmark.

OPINION

Pass the Protect College Sports Act, Matthew Mitten writes in The Hill.
This well-meaning ideology fueling AI panic has a dark side, Jason Willick writes in The Washington Post.

THE CLOSER

And finally … Singer Ed Sheeran addressed the controversy surrounding the removal of Macklemore as his opening act over the rapper's pro-Palestinian comments.

Sheeran said at his Philadelphia concert on Saturday that he has tried not to comment on politics because he wants his music to be about "unity, not division."

“But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore,” he said.

Sheeran said his heart is "broken by the scale of the devastation" in Gaza, calling the situation "catastrophic and unjustifiable." He also condemned Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel as "horrific."

Multiple artists on Sheeran's tour have left over Macklemore being dropped as the opener. The move came under pressure from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other stadium owners.