According to reports, U.S. artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is setting up a "presidential-level engagement" initiative aimed at the 2028 election, assembling an internal team to directly engage with presidential candidates from both parties on AI-related issues, assist company executives in formulating political strategy, and manage the company's political funding programs. This move comes on the eve of the November U.S. midterm elections and ahead of Anthropic's upcoming initial public offering (IPO) — the latter could value the company at $2 trillion, underscoring that government policy, especially White House support, has become critically important to the AI industry.

Anthropic is recruiting a political programs lead to head the effort and build the team. According to a recent job description posted by the company, the lead will "build and operate Anthropic's presidential campaign engagement program for the 2028 election cycle." Specific responsibilities include: "mapping potential campaign camps on both sides, fairly providing AI policy briefings and education to candidates and their advisers, helping Anthropic executives prepare for communications, and conducting forward-looking planning for key periods such as party platform drafting, national conventions, and transitions of power."

Anthropic wrote in the job description: "Decisions made in the next two years will have far-reaching consequences. We want every serious candidate and official in both parties to understand this technology and the necessity of properly regulating it."

It is common practice for technology companies to lobby the U.S. government — OpenAI is also recruiting a "Head of U.S. Congressional Affairs" to advance its legislative priorities — but Anthropic's plan to establish a dedicated internal program to engage presidential candidates appears unusual to some experts.

"Companies typically build relationships with presidential campaigns through their government affairs staff; corporate figures can participate in fundraising and also get involved in policy making," said Bruce F. Freed, president of the nonpartisan Center for Political Accountability. "But I have never seen this kind of formalized intervention through a dedicated 'presidential election engagement committee.' In my view, this is a move by an AI company aimed at shaping or circumventing government regulation and scrutiny."

Anthropic's relationship with the Trump administration has been particularly turbulent. In March of this year, due to disagreements with the Pentagon over military uses of technology, Anthropic was designated a "supply chain risk" by the U.S. Department of Defense. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has consistently advocated slowing the pace of AI development to strengthen safety safeguards and has actively called for government regulation of AI. However, U.S. President Trump does not share this view; he strongly opposes any regulatory measures that could cause the United States to fall behind in the AI race. Last week, Amodei attended a White House event along with several other AI industry executives and signed an agreement pledging industry self-regulation.

Katie Harbath, founder and CEO of technology policy consulting firm Anchor Change, said of Anthropic's plan to engage future presidents: "Think of this as the beginning of their relationship-building with whoever enters the White House in 2029."

California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla said Anthropic's recruitment of a "political programs lead" "reminds people that companies developing frontier AI models are building political operating systems at the same time they are building products." Padilla noted that while companies have the right to participate in the country's decision-making process and educate policymakers about how AI technology works, "'educating' and 'influencing' are not the same thing, and the public has the right to know where the line between the two lies." He also urged Anthropic to disclose more details about the program.

Anthropic's "Political Programs Lead" position requires candidates to have at least 12 years of experience working in campaign teams, party committees, or political organizations, high-level experience in national-level political affairs, and a "track record of building reliable working relationships with both parties." However, for anyone who takes the role, it will be a challenging and high-pressure job; the salary range for the position is between $295,000 and $345,000.