Legis1 Congress Update

The Pentagon is racing to put AI into every corner of its work. The office meant to make sure that happens safely is mostly empty. Seven of the 10 positions in the Defense Department's Responsible AI Division were vacant as of February, according to a GAO report released Oct. 14. The council that's supposed to coordinate responsible-AI work didn't meet from late 2024 until August 2025, and it still has no written charter spelling out who's in charge or how often it meets. GAO's warning: it "is at risk of lapsing again." The gaps show up in practice. GAO asked 10 DoD offices about one AI project each. Four said none of their requirements matched the department's own responsible-AI tenets. Three didn't know whether results would be checked once the system was in use. And 29 of 64 tasks on the division's own roadmap were still unfinished as of April. Pentagon leaders say speed is the priority as rivals pour money into AI. Sen. Jack Reed and outside experts argue oversight can't wait. GAO wants a charter and a fully staffed office; DoD agreed. All three recommendations remain open. Full story from AllCiv, based on a Legis1 review of the audit: bit.ly/4A05IGx

399 endorsements. One Texas Senate seat. 6 days out. 🗝️ Talarico (D) 135 • Paxton (R) 103 Same race, two totally different coalitions. Senate Dem leadership, Pritzker, Bloomberg and the big Texas papers on one side. Cruz, Thune, Musk, RFK Jr., the NRA and the U.S. Chamber on the other. And the biggest group doing the endorsing? Not Congress — state and local officials (134 of them). Every endorsement here is sourced and dated. Full race tracker, polling and money at legis1.com

Dems push in. GOP pulls back. 💸 Super PAC ad money just reshuffled: 🔵 Democrats: +$266,710 net across 6 filings� 🔴 Republicans: −$252,155 net across 16 filings Biggest move: WinSenate added $250,250 to Michigan’s Senate race. Biggest retreat: Senate Leadership Fund pulled $278,610 out of Georgia’s Senate race, while adding $114,760 in toss-up Iowa. Full breakdown at Legis1: bit.ly/4Bv2Q65

Meta spent $6.8M on federal lobbying in Q3 — down from $8.1M in Q1 — as Congress weighs children's online safety bills and digital services taxes that could hit its bottom line. #Meta #TechPolicy #OnlineSafety

Meta spent $6.8M on federal lobbying in Q3 — down from $8.1M in Q1 — as Congress weighs children's online safety bills and digital services taxes that could hit its bottom line. #Meta #TechPolicy #OnlineSafety

Oracle spent $2.89M on federal lobbying in Q3 — up 25% year-over-year — as Congress scrutinizes its $26.9B VA health records contract and debates national AI and privacy policy. #Oracle #FederalContracting #AIPolicy

Oracle spent $2.89M on federal lobbying in Q3 — up 25% year-over-year — as Congress scrutinizes its $26.9B VA health records contract and debates national AI and privacy policy. #Oracle #FederalContracting #AIPolicy

Battleground ad spending is shifting by the hour as super PACs and party committees pour money into key states ahead of Nov. 2026. Follow the cash to find the map. #Elections2026 #AdSpending #Politics

Both House party committees spent way more than they brought in last month. 💸 The DCCC raised $26.3M and spent $46.5M. The NRCC raised $28.5M and spent $56.3M. The biggest driver was coordinated spending with campaigns, which made up 83% of the NRCC’s spending.

Michigan went from $306K in booked airtime yesterday to nearly $4 MILLION today. Democratic-aligned groups put up $2.75M of that, against $1.23M from Republican-aligned groups. House Majority PAC alone booked $2.13M, and WinSenate added $620K.