Author of California Frontier AI Law Could Be Pelosi's Successor
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., confirmed Thursday that she won't seek reelection to the San Francisco-based seat she has held for 20 terms, potentially paving the way for California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), who has focused on AI and other tech policy issues, to succeed her. Pelosi led the House for four terms, from 2007-11 and 2019-23, most recently when Democrats had a majority in the chamber. She relinquished her leadership role at the beginning of the last Congress to now-Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
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Wiener is one of six Democratic candidates who filed to run for Pelosi's seat as of Thursday morning, before she announced her retirement plans. His main Democratic rival is former tech entrepreneur Saikat Chakrabarti. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a Wiener-led AI law in September that requires transparency about safety and security protocols and provides whistleblower protection to employees at AI developers (see 2509290064). Previously, Wiener wrote California's 2018 net neutrality law (see 1809210059) after the FCC rescinded its own rules during the first Trump administration. That law has since survived telecom industry groups’ legal challenge (see 2205050041) and went into effect in 2021.
In a statement Thursday, Wiener called Pelosi “an icon of American politics,” praising her for her policy accomplishments and for "fighting for the marginalized,” including the LGBTQ community.