House Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated a willingness to consider regulating artificial intelligence, a stance that puts him at odds with President Donald Trump's explicit opposition to such oversight. This difference of opinion is creating friction within the Republican party as the midterm elections draw near, a time when the party already faces significant headwinds.

In response to urgent calls from within the AI industry to slow down the pace of technological development, Johnson said on Monday that Congress "probably" needs to establish guardrails for the sector. However, he cautioned that crafting legislation with enough broad support to pass could take "some time." The Speaker's remarks on Monday expanded upon a statement he made the previous day, where he outlined his goal of carefully designing regulations to "prevent any harm from AI, while protecting American innovation and national security, and ensuring we maintain our edge over international competitors."

Johnson's cautious language in support of acting on the warnings from tech executives stands in stark contrast to Trump's sharp dismissal of those same concerns. In a social media post on Monday, Trump called the executives' warnings a "scam" and attributed worries about frontier AI models to a "sick conspiracy." Johnson, however, played down the apparent rift with the President, suggesting that Trump's post reflects a shared desire to keep the United States in a leading position in AI.

The Speaker also mentioned that Trump plans to convene a meeting with AI company executives in the coming days, adding that the President's rejection of the warnings stems from his focus on maintaining a competitive advantage over China. The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding this potential meeting.

The emerging tension between Trump and Johnson comes with just 50 days to go before the midterm elections, in which Republicans risk losing control of Congress. The Democratic party is also placing a greater emphasis on the AI issue. Former President Barack Obama called for regulation last week, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement on Monday saying the "alarm bells are ringing louder than ever" and urging Congress to act. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday that Congress "needs to act decisively," adding, "Republicans have abandoned their responsibility to protect the American people. Democrats will step in."

Despite this mounting pressure, Congress is unlikely to take action on any AI legislation in the near term. House members are scheduled to leave Washington on Thursday and will not return until after the November elections. "This is a very complex issue that requires a lot of work and bipartisan solutions," Johnson told reporters at the Capitol.

For now, the willingness to establish some form of AI guardrails is growing within Congress, with proposals ranging from a broad plan by Senator Bernie Sanders to pause AI development to more moderate regulatory measures.