New PAC plans over $100M for 2026 midterms to back Trump AI agenda

In short: A new political action committee called Innovation Council Action says it will spend more than $100 million in the 2026 midterm elections to support candidates who align with President Trump’s approach to AI rules.

What's going on

Innovation Council Action is a pro-AI political action committee, or PAC (a group that raises money to support or oppose political candidates). The group says it plans to spend over $100 million in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. It plans to support candidates who agree with President Trump’s push for fewer AI regulations and to oppose those who want stricter rules.

The PAC is led by former Trump aide Taylor Budowich and is backed by tech investor and White House AI advisor David Sacks. It has opened an office in Washington, D.C., and has been raising money since late 2025. The group also built a “lawmaker scorecard,” which is basically a report card to track which politicians match Trump’s AI policy goals.

Those goals include replacing different state AI laws with one set of federal rules, and speeding up the building of AI infrastructure like data centers (large buildings full of computers, like warehouses for computing power). The agenda also stresses competing with China on AI.

Innovation Council Action is not the only group spending big money around AI policy. TechCrunch reports that other AI-linked groups are also raising and planning large sums, including Leading the Future, a Meta-backed super PAC focused on state races, and Public First Action, which supports stronger AI regulation and is funded partly by Anthropic.

What to watch

Watch whether this spending changes what AI laws get proposed in Congress and in statehouses, especially around the question of one national AI rulebook versus state-by-state rules.

Source: TechCrunch AI