Anthropic is pushing states to one-up each other with ever-tougher AI safety rules rather than adopt a single uniform framework, splitting from rival OpenAI, according to POLITICO. State-policy head Cesar Fernandez said Anthropic wants laws that push safety standards materially higher for the most powerful AI, unlike OpenAI lobbyist Chris Lehane’s “reverse federalism,” which spreads matching bills across states. Anthropic was the only leading lab to back California’s 2025 AI law and has since endorsed progressively stricter bills in New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts, which it calls the nation’s strongest. Critics tied to the Trump administration and venture capital accuse it of trying to kneecap regulators and box out rivals, while both fund dueling super PACs and Anthropic began backing California legislators in June.
