{"id":839869,"date":"2026-09-07T21:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/839869\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T21:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:10:15","slug":"openai-hires-chuck-schumers-daughter-as-big-tech-cozies-up-to-democrats-ahead-of-midterms-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/839869\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI hires Chuck Schumer’s daughter as Big Tech cozies up to Democrats ahead of midterms: report"},"content":{"rendered":"

OpenAI<\/a> has reportedly hired Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2019s daughter Jessica Schumer for a top policy job as Silicon Valley increasingly works to shore up ties with Democrats ahead of November\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Jessica Schumer, Amazon\u2019s former top public-policy official in New York, is joining OpenAI to handle the company\u2019s government outreach and partnerships in Northeastern states, Axios reported<\/a>, citing a spokesperson for the AI giant.<\/p>\n

The Harvard and Yale-educated Schumer brings deep ties to Democratic politics and government to OpenAI<\/a>, which is rapidly expanding its operations in Washington, DC, and state capitals as lawmakers wrestle with how to regulate the booming industry.<\/p>\n

Sen. Chuck Schumer and his daughter Jessica Schumer arrive for a state dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Dec. 1, 2022. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Before joining Amazon in 2020, Schumer\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 included serving in the Obama White House as chief of staff of the Council of Economic Advisers and working as policy director for Tim Kaine during Hillary Clinton\u2019s unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

OpenAI\u2019s hiring of Jessica Schumer could draw scrutiny because her father, a Dem, helped lead the Senate\u2019s push to develop federal AI policy<\/a>, including a series of bipartisan forums that culminated in a policy roadmap.<\/p>\n

Her younger sister Alison Schumer has also built a career in tech<\/a>, working at Facebook and Instagram before moving to Airbnb and later returning to Facebook.<\/p>\n

Her roles have included policy and communications at Instagram, public affairs at Airbnb and product marketing at Facebook.<\/p>\n

Jessica Schumer has worked for two of the biggest names in tech \u2014 Amazon and OpenAI. Getty Images<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll take on similar tasks at OpenAI \u2014 and keep her distance from her powerful father, the company said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJessica will focus on state and local public policy efforts and not federal policy or engagement with Congress.\u00a0She will not be involved in any advocacy before the Minority Leader or his office related to OpenAI business,\u201d OpenAI said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cJessica was selected for this role through a highly competitive process and we are excited to have her join our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jessica Schumer\u2019s hiring comes as Big Tech companies that aggressively courted President Trump after his return to the White House increasingly hedge their bets ahead of an election that could hand Democrats control of the House.<\/p>\n

OpenAI itself has pursued what appears to be a bipartisan strategy.<\/p>\n

It also brought aboard Caulder Harvill-Childs to handle policy and partnerships in the Southeast. Harvill-Childs, who most recently worked in public policy at Meta, previously served under Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican.<\/p>\n

Alison Schumer, center, is pictured with her father, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and her wife, Elizabeth Weiland. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Other tech companies have made similar moves as the prospect of a Democratic-controlled House raises the possibility of congressional investigations, subpoenas and hearings.<\/p>\n

Meta, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg cultivated a closer relationship with Trump following his 2024 election victory<\/a>, has poured millions into groups aligned with both parties.<\/p>\n

The tech giant gave $5 million apiece to Democratic-aligned House Majority Forward and Majority Forward, while handing the same amounts to GOP-aligned American Action Network and One Nation, according to the Wall Street Journal. <\/a><\/p>\n

The company previously contributed $10 million to a Trump-aligned political committee.<\/p>\n

Companies including Meta and Palantir have meanwhile been preparing for the possibility that a Democratic House could launch investigations into corporations with close ties to Trump, according to the Journal.<\/p>\n

Companies are also consulting lawyers and making internal preparations for potential congressional inquiries, the Journal reported.<\/p>\n

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman\u2019s company is expanding its bipartisan policy operation as the tech industry hedges its bets ahead of November\u2019s midterm elections. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The preparations come as Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to seize the House and gain control of committees with subpoena authority.<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence companies and their wealthy backers have been pouring tens of millions of dollars into congressional races \u2014 including Democratic primaries \u2014 as the industry seeks to shape emerging AI policy.<\/p>\n

Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC backed by tech heavyweights including OpenAI<\/a> co-founder Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and venture capitalist Ron Conway, have amassed tens of millions of dollars to influence congressional races.<\/p>\n

The group has backed Democrats including Reps. Ritchie Torres of New York, Rob Menendez of New Jersey and Val Hoyle of Oregon, while supporting Republicans in other races.<\/p>\n

Other AI-linked groups have spent millions supporting candidates in both parties, a sign that Silicon Valley is seeking influence on both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n

Prediction-market giant Kalshi has taken a similarly approach.<\/p>\n

OpenAI is expanding its state-level policy operation as the artificial intelligence industry faces growing scrutiny from lawmakers over regulation and oversight. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Donald Trump Jr. serves as a strategic adviser to the company. This year, Kalshi hired John Bivona, a former Biden administration official who previously served as deputy national political director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to lead its federal government relations operation.<\/p>\n

It later added veteran Obama strategist Stephanie Cutter as a policy adviser.<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from Chuck and Jessica Schumer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OpenAI has reportedly hired Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2019s daughter Jessica Schumer for a top policy job as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":839870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[181,28,46961,12,170164,228953,1283,172,918],"class_list":["post-839869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-business","tag-chuck-schumer","tag-donald-trump","tag-midterm-elections","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-openai","tag-tech","tag-wall-street"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=839869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=839869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=839869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=839869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}