Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) ripped into Democrats over their aversion to artificial intelligence and their push to heavily regulate it in the name of protecting jobs and expanding government oversight. He warned that this approach amounts to a “China-first” policy and risks setting the United States back in the race for the technology of the future.
Democrat Sen. John Fetterman rips Democrats becoming “anti-AI” and for pushing an AI moratorium, calling it “lunacy” and a “China‑first” move.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 14, 2026
Fetterman: “In the Democratic Party, you know, you know, something that's so important that's going to transform our world, AI. You… pic.twitter.com/4ldkE6dsJJ
"Well, here we are right now, you know, in the Democratic Party, you have something that's so important, it's going to transform our world, AI," he said. "People in my party now becoming anti-AI and data centers. You know, people in my party are calling for a moratorium in our country; that's lunacy."
"That's China-first kind of a policy in our nation," Fetterman added. "I'll be the one Democrat to just stand up and say, that's ridiculous. You know, we have to be the people that build the chassis of AI. Now, that's why I'm proud to say, look, you know, I think it's a country, definitely country over party, even something like transformative, like AI and data centers here in my party."
Democrats have increasingly taken an oppositional stance toward AI in ways that could stifle innovation and hand bureaucrats control over a technology that should be allowed to develop freely, rather than being steered by Washington. Even the data center has become the new symbol of capitalism, and one many progressives seek to destroy.
Concerns range from workers’ rights and job displacement to the significant amounts of power required to run new AI systems and data centers. But those concerns, while real, do not outweigh the benefits of embracing artificial intelligence, nor do they justify slowing down innovation or treating technological progress as something to be tightly constrained by government.
Yes, data centers and AI infrastructure require substantial energy, but that demand itself becomes a driver of progress. It pushes engineers, companies, and policymakers to develop more efficient energy sources, smarter grids, and new forms of generation. The result is likely to be more investment, more jobs, and more opportunity than a system that deliberately slows adoption in the name of caution.
Furthermore, the integration of AI into daily life will help make a wide range of products cheaper and enable American workers to become more productive. Even leading AI experts have argued that the real risk is not people losing their jobs to AI, but losing them to other workers who know how to use AI effectively.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang : “It is unlikely most people will lose a job to AI. It is most likely that most people lose their job to somebody who uses AI.” pic.twitter.com/xAXkXH2EZQ
— Thomas W. Parker (@ThomasParkerUIR) April 21, 2026
Throughout history, the proper response to new technology has been to embrace it and adapt, not resist it. And once again, Democrats appear to be on the wrong side of that historical pattern.