Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) tore into House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Friday, calling him “one of the most spineless, weakest leaders in America” over the House’s decision to adjourn while members of both parties were pressing for action on artificial intelligence regulation.
Shapiro made the remarks during an appearance on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” according to Breitbart, which published clips of the interview. The governor’s criticism came as part of a broader argument that Washington needs to build a federal regulatory framework for AI along the lines of what already exists for pharmaceuticals and aviation.
‘Losing Control of Their Technology’
Shapiro opened his remarks by describing an industry moving faster than its own leaders anticipated. He said the situation is developing more quickly than even many of the CEOs of the major AI companies had imagined, and that those executives are now “losing control of their technology” while issuing what he characterized as apocalyptic warnings.
“Now, I’m not a doomer, but I do believe that we need to get control of this immediately,” Shapiro said.
The governor framed the issue as a familiar American regulatory question rather than a novel or radical one. He pointed to the existing approval processes that govern prescription drugs and commercial aircraft as models, arguing that no one would accept a pharmaceutical company handing a new drug directly to the public without FDA review, or an airplane manufacturer rolling an unapproved jet off the assembly line and loading it with paying passengers.
“We need a similar regulatory structure at the federal level,” Shapiro said, adding that the same logic should apply to artificial intelligence.
Aim at Johnson and the White House
From there, Shapiro turned his fire toward congressional leadership. He said the urgency of the issue, combined with public warnings from industry CEOs, made it unconscionable that Johnson chose to adjourn the House of Representatives at a moment when lawmakers from both parties were calling on him to stay in session and work through the issue.
“Mike Johnson, who is frankly, one of the most spineless, weakest leaders in America,” Shapiro said, according to the clip.
The governor did not stop at the speaker. He also aimed at the White House, saying the president has asserted that no regulation is needed even as the leaders of the AI industry itself say otherwise. Shapiro called that position unconscionable as well, arguing that it makes the American people less safe.
The comments place Shapiro, a nationally prominent Democratic governor, at the center of an emerging fight over how aggressively Washington should move to oversee AI development. His argument leans on a bipartisan-sounding premise — that members of both parties wanted the House to remain in session — even as his sharpest language was reserved for the Republican speaker and the president.
By invoking the FDA and FAA as templates, Shapiro is aligning himself with a camp of policymakers who favor sector-specific federal oversight rather than relying on voluntary commitments from AI developers. That approach has drawn resistance from industry figures and from many Republicans who argue that premature regulation could stunt innovation in a field where the United States is competing globally.
Johnson’s decision to send members home, as described by Shapiro, has become a flashpoint in that debate. Whether the House returns to take up AI legislation — and on what timetable — remains an open question.
For now, Shapiro’s remarks add one of the more colorful lines to the growing political fight over AI, using a morning television appearance to accuse the speaker of abandoning the chamber just as lawmakers in both parties wanted to keep working.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/09/18/shapiro-speaker-johnson-one-of-the-most-spineless-weakest-leaders-in-america/