Group plans $100 million Midterm effort to back Trump AI agenda

Emily Birnbaum, Bloomberg News on Mar 30, 2026

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WASHINGTON — A former top aide to President Donald Trump is initiating a $100 million campaign to promote the administration’s pro-artificial intelligence agenda during this year’s midterm elections.

The launch of the Innovation Council adds new heft to the AI industry’s already extensive efforts to shape the 2026 races that will decide control of the U.S. House and Senate. Another group backed by billionaires including the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman has pledged to spend more than $100 million bolstering candidates friendly to the sector.

The new group, led by former Trump White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, will concentrate on promoting Trump’s efforts to “unleash American innovation and American prosperity right here in the U.S.A.,” according to the the Innovation Council’s website. Budowich previously led the pro-Trump super political action committee MAGA Inc. and worked on the president’s 2024 campaign.

Trump has spent his second term embracing the AI boom and seeking to advance it. He signed an executive order to help quash state-level AI safety laws, supported initiatives to speed up data center construction and pledged to ensure the U.S. wins the AI race against China.

Innovation Council has the backing of David Sacks, an AI adviser to the president. The group’s launch was earlier reported by Axios.

“Innovation Council will play a critical role in advancing the innovation agenda championed by President Trump and this administration,” Sacks said in a statement. “We welcome its support at this important juncture.”

The Innovation Council, which is structured as a so-called “dark money” group that does not have to disclose its donors, was incorporated in Utah last year. Budowich said he does not plan to reveal names of contributors.

In order to assess which candidates Innovation Council will support or oppose, the group is compiling scorecards assessing how supportive lawmakers have been of Trump’s AI agenda.

The advocacy comes as public sentiment on artificial intelligence continues to sour, according to recent surveys. A poll by Quinnipiac released earlier Monday showed more than half of Americans believe AI would likely do more harm than good.