Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy argued that the United States getting its energy policy in line would pave the way to creating “the American century,” in part over whether or not it can win the race on artificial intelligence and quantum.
McCarthy previewed various policies and executive orders Trump can push once he is sworn into office in January, including rolling back current regulations. He also suggested the country’s foreign policy has already shifted in a better manner, claiming Trump’s “presence” as president-elect is bringing stability to the global stage.
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“But what you really want to know is can the next 50 years be the American century, because what you want to do here is whoever captures AI and quantum has the best ability,” McCarthy said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “But no one can do that unless they get their energy policy right, and that’s where President Trump is correct.”
McCarthy then praised “the bright minds” that Trump is bringing into his new administration, specifically mentioning billionaire Elon Musk, who will co-head the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency. He argued Trump is now “much different” compared to when he first took office in 2017, and is much more equipped to clean up “the swamp.”
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“That’s why I just think it’s a mistake if Congress pushes the funding they should have already got done onto the president,” McCarthy said. “Let him do his job, let him put out his agenda that he’s trying to do because we know he’ll work each and every day for it.”
The former speaker also addressed the rivalry that Trump and the U.S. face with China concerning the race on AI, stressing the former nation is “too dependent” on the latter. He added that the U.S. needs to focus on policies related to the future, such as energy, healthcare, and space.
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Last week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed optimism that Trump will help the U.S. lead the race on AI, stating he thinks the president-elect will be “very good” at building the necessary infrastructures to make this a reality. He also stressed how AI will contribute to “one of these unusually important moments in the history of technology,” and underscored the need for the U.S. to take the lead on this issue.
Following the election, Trump met with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Mar-a-Lago, which Meta stated took place amid “an important time for the future of American Innovation.” Ahead of the election Zuckerberg did not endorse Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris. However, after the election he did write on the social media platform Threads that he was “looking forward” to working with the incoming Trump administration.