AI Lobbyists Are Flying Congressional Staffers Around the Country on Luxury Trips

https://readsludge.com/2026/03/11/ai-lobbyists-are-flying-congressional-staffers-around-the-country-on-luxury-trips/

28 Comments

  1. Abystract-ism on

    When we finally oust this regime, I hope lobbying laws get a MASSIVE overhaul!

  2. Mydreamsource on

    All lobbying should be banned, just like congressional insider trading. Too much money influencing government.

  3. goodbyeflorida on

    I had a thought the other day. If you try to bribe an officer it’s illegal. But if you get pulled over, can you “lobby” an officer to not give you a ticket?

  4. LiteratureMindless71 on

    “America’s for sale….and you can get a good deal onnnnnn it…..and make a healthy profit. Or maybe tear it apart…start with assumption that everyone is smart, smarter than one”

    Or something, it’s been years.

  5. The really insidious part isn’t the trips themselves — it’s the knowledge asymmetry they create. Congressional staffers are the ones who actually draft legislation, and most of them have zero technical background in AI. So now the only “education” they get on how AI works, what it can do, and what risks to regulate comes directly from the companies who benefit from light regulation.

    It’s the same playbook telecom ran in the 90s and pharma ran in the 2000s. By the time independent experts get a seat at the table, the regulatory framework is already baked and the lobbyists have moved on to shaping enforcement.

    The speed of AI development makes this worse than past rounds of regulatory capture — by the time Congress passes anything meaningful, the technology has already leapfrogged whatever they’re trying to regulate.

  6. Daily reminder of what lobbying is because people post dumb crap every time lobbying is mentioned: the act of individuals or organizations communicating with government officials to influence public policy, rooted in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects the right of the people “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

    You can want anti corruption laws, want disclosure laws, anti revolving door laws, even significant limit corporate lobbying but that ones tricky and a 1A issue but when you say you want to ban lobbying, you’re just telling everyone in the room you’ve never taken a civics 101 class.

    Reminder of some American lobbying organizations: wounded warrior project, American heart association, ACLU, NAACP, anti-defamation league,national wildlife federation,AARP, national education association,literally all the labor unions.

    Things we have due to lobbying: the civil rights act, Americans with disabilities act, family and medical leave act, OSHA, vehicle safety standards, anti smoking research, clean water act, national parks, GI bill, interstate highways.

    Be informed please.

  7. TouristResident1976 on

    Ha, I read that as ALL lobbyists are flying around congressional staffers.

  8. CodyintheCinema on

    AI is already destroying water and raising electricity bills. Why not add unnecessary flights to the destruction?

  9. SgtNeilDiamond on

    Corrupt fucking pieces of trash.

    Republicans are truly the fucking worst garbage on the planet. Its easy to buy pedophile lovers with 0 integrity

  10. YourFriendNoo on

    This is a nightmare, but I won’t lie, it’s not as bad as when I first read the headline.

    I assumed the lobbyists WERE ai, not just lobbying FOR ai.

    So I guess there’s that? 🤷‍♂️

  11. Inevitable-Top1-2025 on

    The fraud hose is gushing out to the maximum! They will become millionaires and billionaires from this war by the time it’s over. Guess which demographics are looting our treasury in the name of “national security” and “defense contracts”? They’re coming out of the woodwork to sell us junk that doesn’t work in the battlefield, as we have seen in the ongoing war!

    I’m disgusted that there is nothing we can do about it!

  12. Folks, dont worry. I am sure checks and balances will make sure nothing underhanded happens. Like massive bills supporting AI datacenters running roughshod over citizen’s rights.

  13. GeneralCommand4459 on

    I hope they’re using paper straws on those jets otherwise it doesn’t seem very sustainable