Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pressing the Trump administration for more information on potential plans to “prop up” major AI companies with money from taxpayers. In a letter to David Sacks, the White House special advisor for AI and Crypto, and Michael Kratsios, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Sen.Warren writes that President Donald Trump’s “close ties” with AI executives and donors “raise concerns that the Administration will bail out AI executives and shareholders while leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.”
Warren, who is a ranking member on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, points to a recent interview with OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, who suggested the government could “backstop” the company’s investments in AI, before walking back the statement. However, Warren notes that OpenAI wrote a letter to Kratsios in October, requesting that the Trump administration expand the government-funded Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) — which is supposed to go toward semiconductor manufacturers — to support AI server production and data centers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said last week that the company does “not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI datacenters,” adding that “taxpayers should not bail out companies that make bad business decisions.” Despite the billions that AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are pouring into the technology, they’re seeing far less in return, raising questions about what might happen to these startups if AI demand doesn’t pan out. Meanwhile, tech executives have spent months attempting to flatter President Donald Trump at White House dinners and with donations, with Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta pitching in to build a White House ballroom. Warren and other lawmakers have characterized some of these contributions as potential bribes.
“OpenAI’s actions suggest that it may be pursuing a deliberate strategy to entangle itself with the federal government.”
Earlier this month, Sacks pushed back on concerns that the government will back up AI startups, saying “there will be no federal bailout for AI.”
Warren, however, expresses skepticism. “While Mr. Altman has claimed that the company is not looking for a ‘bail out,’ OpenAI’s actions suggest that it may be pursuing a deliberate strategy to entangle itself with the federal government and the broader economy so the government has no choice but to step in with public funds,” Warren writes. “We have seen this before: take on enough debt, make enough risky bets, and then demand a taxpayer bailout when those bets go south so the economy does not crash.”
Sen. Warren is asking Sacks and Kratsios if the Trump administration has any plans or proposals to provide a backstop for OpenAI and other firms. She’s also seeking information about what kind of government assistance the administration plans to give OpenAI and other companies, as well as whether they think AMIC should apply to AI buildout. Sacks and Kratsios have until December 1st, 2025, to reply.
