The July 14 Axios House D.C. event put the machinery of power on full display: business leaders, lawmakers and regulators gathered to talk about AI, energy and advanced manufacturing while a pro-AI super PAC sat on $31.5 million for the midterms. The people making the rules, the people trying to bend them, and the people expected to live with the results all showed up in the same room. The money was already moving.
Who Gets to Set the Terms
Axios said America is entering a new industrial age as AI and new technologies boost economic growth and revamp how every sector operates. That was the frame at the event sponsored by Accenture and Ford, where Axios' Nathan Bomey, Neil Irwin, Colin Demarest, Mike Allen, Courtenay Brown and Ben Geman hosted conversations with NYSE Group president Lynn Martin; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.); Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour; Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Michael Selig; Zillow Group CEO Jeremy Wacksman; Northrop Grumman chair, CEO and president Kathy Warden; U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer; and Southern Company chair, president and CEO Chris Womack.
That lineup says plenty. Corporate executives, a trade official, a regulator, and a member of Congress all took turns describing the future as if it were a boardroom project. Martin said AI's biggest economic opportunities will come from energy and infrastructure, predicting both sectors are positioned for "outsized returns for a longer period of time." Womack said the U.S. needs to commit to building 10 new nuclear plants to meet growing energy demand. The costs and risks sit below the table. The returns get the microphone.
Who Pays for the Race
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said he was worried the Iran war will become this generation's "forever war," and he criticized President Trump for using "basically real estate negotiators" in diplomatic talks. On Trump's strategy, Meeks said, "I don't think that you're going to be able to bomb yourself out of this." That warning landed in the middle of a gathering otherwise focused on growth, markets and industrial expansion. War, like energy policy, shows up as another pressure ordinary people are expected to absorb.
Bill Ford, Ford Motor Company executive chair, said most of America's critical minerals come from China. He said the U.S. has them, but it doesn't have the proper regulation to develop those minerals. Ford said a bipartisan industrial policy is needed. "Having a planning horizon that we can count on makes a huge difference, because our lead times are longer than political lead times," Ford said. He also said flying cars are "very possible." The language of planning sounds neat enough. The reality is a system where corporate timelines outrun public accountability, and the public is left to catch up.
The Money Behind the 'Innovation'
Axios also reported that Leading the Future, a pro AI-industry super PAC backed by tech executives and investors pushing rapid AI development and lighter regulation, closed out Q2 with $31.5 million after transferring $20 million to affiliated groups. It disbursed $10 million each to Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC, according to its latest FEC filing. Leading the Future spokesperson Jesse Hunt said, "Our resources will allow us to continue building a deep bench of pro-innovation champions." That's the polite language of influence buying. The cash is there to shape the field before voters ever get a say.
Public First Action, a bipartisan 501(c)(4) nonprofit that advocates for AI safety and received $20 million from Anthropic earlier this year, is tied to three super PACs. The bipartisan Public First PAC reported about $494,000 cash on hand at the end of Q2. It raised about $3.4 million during the quarter, much of it from Anthropic executives and employees, and transferred $3.3 million to its affiliate, Jobs and Democracy PAC. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei donated $1 million to Public First. Anthropic, Google and OpenAI employees collectively contributed more than $2 million to the super PAC.
Jobs and Democracy PAC, which backs Democrats, ended the quarter with about $1.3 million cash on hand. The super PAC spent heavily in support of New York pro-AI safety candidate Alex Bores, who lost out to fellow Democrat Micah Lasher. In addition to the money from Public First PAC during this quarter, it received nearly $10 million from Public First Action, the affiliated 501(c)(4), during the reporting period. The reform lane is crowded with donors, affiliates and PACs. The names change. The structure doesn't.
What They're Calling Regulation
Selig said the CFTC will defend its authority over prediction markets "all the way up to the Supreme Court" if necessary. Mansour said prediction markets are "here to stay" because many people feel traditional financial systems are "rigged against them." Greer said the U.S. won't let Europe become "the arbiter" of regulating American tech companies. Each quote points to a different turf war inside the same apparatus: agencies defending jurisdiction, companies defending profit, and governments defending their own reach.
Wacksman said the homebuying process has become so complicated that half of Americans cry at some point during the process, according to Zillow's 2022 study. That detail cuts through the polished talk. The market doesn't just sort people. It grinds them down.
Accenture Federal Services CEO Ron Ash said the U.S. is in a prototyping bubble. "My biggest concern is that we win this race for developing the best AI technology and we lose the race to deploy it," he said. The race metaphor keeps coming back, as if the only question is who gets there first, not who gets used along the way.
Axios said groups focused on AI safety and transparency are far behind industry fundraising, and that as the midterms approach, AI PAC spending is ramping up. With roughly $31 million in its accounts, Leading the Future has significant room to expand its footprint before November. The money is ready. The institutions are lined up. The rest of the country gets to live with the consequences.