America Must Win the AI Race and Protect National Security

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released the following statement from Michael Faulkender, AFPI’s co-chair of Economy and Trade Policy and chair of AI and Emerging Technology, on the need to protect America’s leadership in artificial intelligence while addressing legitimate national-security risks through existing authorities.

America is the greatest technology power on earth and must remain so. The President already has clear authority to oversee the artificial intelligence industry. Existing tools, including the voluntary framework established in Executive Order 14409 , can create a CFIUS-style review process for new AI models. This offers a practical way to address national-security risks, limit harms, and constrain bad actors while still winning geopolitically, economically, and militarily.  These authorities can also require embedded auditing, which the industry has recently embraced. AFPI research confirms that legitimate national-security risks should be met with decisive action through these existing tools, led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.  

Much of the anti-AI campaign is a foreign influence operation, led primarily by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Claims about  data center water use, for instance, have been disproved by AFPI's research. The President’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge ensures that data centers benefit local communities by upgrading energy infrastructure and training workers. When communities voluntarily host them, the results are clear: high-paying jobs and lower property-tax burdens from strong local revenues.

The choice is simple: America can win the AI race - and realize major economic benefits along the way - or cede the future to Beijing.