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OpenAI Exec Launches $100M PAC, Pushes State AI Laws

5/23/2026

Summary

Lehane Pushes Reverse Federalism

OpenAI chief Chris Lehane is leading a “reverse federalism” push on AI laws in Illinois, California and New York and launched pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future with $100 million, opposing Alex Bores in 12th-district race.
April 2026 polls show only 26% of U.S. voters view AI positively.
Critics warn the patchwork could boost corporate AI use but leave smaller projects vulnerable, as OpenAI’s policy proposals stress economic benefits and downplay job-loss concerns.

Summary

Hayes Warns AI

Hayes projects $557 billion in defaults from AI-driven white-collar job loss.
He estimates 20% of 72.1 million U.S. knowledge workers—about 14.4 million—could be displaced.
Hayes warns the losses could erase 13% of U.S. commercial-bank equity, hurting regional banks.
He argues defense spending and Enhanced Supplemental Leverage Ratio rules will create credit to offset AI-deflation and boost Bitcoin prices.
He notes Silicon Valley Bank failed because of an unhedged duration mismatch, not exotic derivatives.

History

Historical Context

In September 2008 the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, championed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, marked a global credit freeze. That bailout framework now frames AI analyst Hayes’s warning that current OpenAI-led PAC spending could repeat the 2008 strain on regional banks such as Silicon Valley Bank.

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Lehane Pushes Reverse Federalism

OpenAI chief Chris Lehane is leading a “reverse federalism” push on AI laws in Illinois, California and New York and launched pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future with $100 million, opposing Alex Bores in 12th-district race.
April 2026 polls show only 26% of U.S. voters view AI positively.
Critics warn the patchwork could boost corporate AI use but leave smaller projects vulnerable, as OpenAI’s policy proposals stress economic benefits and downplay job-loss concerns.

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