Same WSJ newsletter covers Clarity Act defeat, dividend push, Jordan interceptors
The White House is preparing to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at a state dinner next week, and the guest list is shaping up to include some of the most publicly antagonistic figures in artificial intelligence. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are expected to attend, according to The Wall Street Journal. Whether Elon Musk, a longtime OpenAI rival, will also be present remains unclear.
The potential awkwardness traces to a years-long rivalry between Musk and Altman, whom The Wall Street Journal described as “the bitterest of rivals.” Early last year, a Musk-led group made a $97.4 billion attempted takeover of OpenAI, a move that at the time threatened to complicate the process of Altman’s firm becoming a for-profit company. A jury dismissed the lawsuit several months ago.
That history gave last weekend’s joint statement its unusual character. Altman and Musk joined Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in calling for a collective slowdown of AI development until risks are better understood and controlled, according to the newsletter. The Wall Street Journal framed the alignment as “a rare moment of unity in an industry rife with animus.”
President Trump has rejected that approach, according to the newsletter. Trump has said the United States needs to move faster on artificial intelligence to stay ahead of China, framing the technology as an arms race in which slowing U.S. development would cede ground to Beijing. AI is likely to be a big theme during Xi’s visit, the newsletter noted.
China is expected to bring a number of CEOs to the Washington summit next week, according to the newsletter. Having a united U.S. business front could be important to the U.S. strategy at the summit, the newsletter reported, while a discordant message from the U.S. side could hurt American leverage.
The newsletter also flagged items on Wednesday’s calendar. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest rate decision at 2 p.m. ET. The president holds policy meetings before he travels to North Carolina to campaign for GOP senatorial candidate Michael Whatley.
The same edition reported additional developments across the day’s news. The Clarity Act, a bill that would have helped usher digital assets into the mainstream financial system, failed to advance in a key congressional vote after more than a year of negotiations, according to the newsletter. Democrats and Republicans fought over whether the measure should restrict President Trump from profiting off the industry.
The president has promised $5,000 to every U.S. adult citizen if Republicans hold the House and Senate in the midterms, the newsletter reported. Some GOP lawmakers signaled openness to the rough idea, which the newsletter noted could cost more than $1 trillion. Others said the payout, which the White House labeled a “Trump dividend,” would balloon budget deficits and fuel inflation.
The newsletter also reported that the U.S. is burning through its supply of interceptors to counter Iranian missile attacks. The military fired up to 70 or more of its high-end air defense interceptors last week when Iran launched a missile attack on Jordan, according to U.S. and regional officials familiar with the matter. The heavy expenditure, the newsletter said, underscores Iran’s improved ability to target U.S. forces and challenge American air defenses.
The newsletter, written by Washington coverage chief Damian Paletta and edited in collaboration with Alistair Dawber and Mali Michelle Fleming, closed on: “The timing is awkward and the egos are huge. Just another state dinner in Washington.”