RevolvingDoor_Color_TextHorizontal Created with Sketch.
Search Bar Created with Sketch. Module/Social Icons 1 Created with Sketch.
❮ Return to Our Work

Blog Post | July 9, 2026

AI Villains and the Trump Administration: Marc Andreessen

Artificial IntelligenceCryptocurrencyExecutive BranchLobbyingMarc AndreessenRevolving DoorTechTrump Watch
AI Villains and the Trump Administration: Marc Andreessen

Name: Marc Andreessen (Net Worth: $1.9 Billion, Forbes, 7/9/26)

Title: Co-founder and General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

Industry Affiliation

  • Andreessen’s venture capital firm, a16z, heavily invests in AI companies, with about 40% of its new capital in 2026 being directed towards AI. Its AI portfolio consists of investments in 142+ companies, including major names like OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The company has also backed xAI, an Elon Musk-founded startup known for its Grok AI chatbot on X (formerly Twitter). AI is listed as one of a16z’s focus areas, and the company has on board a dedicated AI infrastructure investing team with roughly $3 billion in committed funding.  
  • Andreessen sits on the board of Applied Intuition, Dialpad, Golden, Meta, and Samsara. Applied Intuition is a company that combines AI with moveable machines like trucks and ships. Dialpad is an AI-powered customer communications platform. Golden is a firm that builds a tech knowledge database using AI. Meta is Mark Zuckerberg’s social media company, which has an AI division for developing AI tech. Samsara provides AI-powered security solutions.

Revolver/Government Experience

  • Andreessen is a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The committee advises Trump “on strengthening American leadership in science and technology.” Under this Trump administration, PCAST is a vessel that allows individuals like Andreessen “to freely lobby on behalf of the tech industry’s interests without the need for lobbyist intermediaries—especially at meetings with the president and his closest advisors.” 
  • Andreessen served as an “unpaid intern” for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which was set up under the second Trump administration to gut federal agencies and the workforce.

Trump Admin Ties

  • In December 2024, Andreessen stated that he was spending “half” his time at Mar-a-Lago to guide staff hirings and help Trump form “policy on tech, business, economics and the ‘success of the country’ more generally.”
  • On January 20, 2025, Trump rescinded Biden’s 2023 executive order on responsible AI development and use—an action that was urged by Andreessen and his tech cohort.
  • In December 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to challenge “cumbersome” state AI regulations. According to Bloomberg, a16z helped influence the administration on what should go in the order. “A 50-state patchwork is a startup killer,” Andreessen wrote on X the month before the order was signed.
    • A former White House official told Bloomberg that a16z’s principal lobbyist, Collin McCune, has veto power over any proposals concerning AI.
  • Andreessen’s allies are deeply entrenched in the second Trump administration. Until June 2026, Sriram Krishnan, who was general partner at a16z for four years, served as a senior policy advisor for AI to the White House. After Krishnan announced he would be leaving the role, David Sacks, co-chair of Trump’s PCAST, tweeted that Krishnan would continue to work with the White House as an outside advisor.
    • Peter Bowman-Davis, a former engineering fellow at a16z, served as acting chief AI officer at the Department of Health and Human Services before joining OpenAI in March 2026. 
    • Scott Kupor, who was a managing partner at a16z for over 16 years, serves as Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees human resources management and worked in tandem with DOGE to shrink the federal workforce.   
    • Greg Hogan, the former vice president of infrastructure at a16z-backed comma.ai, served as Chief Information Officer at OPM from January 2025 to September 2025. Since April 2026, Hogan has been the acting assistant commissioner of Technology Transformation Services, which sits within the government’s General Services Administration. In this capacity, he serves as the head of Login.gov, a single sign-on service for accessing government websites.

Government Affairs

  • In the first quarter of 2026, a16z spent $660,000 to lobby on AI, digital assets, and other issues.  That same period, a16z paid Miller Strategies, LLC $120,000 to lobby on its behalf on AI and digital asset-related issues; BGR Government Affairs $80,000 to lobby on its behalf on AI and digital asset-related issues; Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc. $80,000 to lobby on its behalf on technology, crypto, and energy issues; Mehlman Consulting, Inc. $80,000 to lobby on its behalf on AI and digital asset-related issues; and Zero Mile Strategies $25,000 to lobby on its behalf on acquisition reform. Also during that period, a16z hired McDermott LLC to lobby on its behalf on issues regarding AI in healthcare, drug and device approval, and reimbursement policies.
  • In addition to federal lobbying, Andreessen and his firm, a16z, have financially backed Leading the Future (LTF), a super PAC launched in 2025 that supports pro-AI candidates from both sides of the political aisle, to stave off AI regulation. Andreessen has personally contributed $25 million to LTF, and a16z has donated $50 million to the group.
  • In January 2025, a16z hired Josh Arnold as a government affairs partner to join its expanding D.C. team. Arnold previously served as executive vice president of Targeted Victory, deputy chief of staff to senator Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY), and advisor to the president at the Heritage Foundation, the right-wing think tank behind Project 2025.
    • Targeted Victory is a Republican consulting firm whose founder and CEO, Zac Moffatt, leads LTF alongside Josh Vlasto, former press secretary to senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and chief of staff to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D).
  • Andreessen’s a16z is also part of a pro-AI advocacy group launched in 2025 called the American Innovators Network (AIN), which paid S-3 Group $10,000 in the first quarter of 2026 to lobby for AI preemption legislation. 
  • Further, a16z is partnered with the Chamber of Progress, a pro-AI and crypto advocacy group that lobbies Congress for tech-friendly legislation.
  • Not only do Andreessen and a16z spend millions of dollars during elections to boost candidates allied with the AI industry, but they also spend millions of dollars on politics to support candidates allied with the crypto industry. (In a16z’s view, AI and crypto “are very complementary, balancing and counterbalancing each other.”) As of July 1, 2026, a16z has donated a combined total of $47.5 million to Fairshake and its affiliates, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, for the 2026 midterm elections. Fairshake is a pro-crypto super PAC; it supports Republican candidates through its Defend American Jobs affiliate and Democratic candidates through its Protect Progress affiliate.

State Level Action

  • LTF, the pro-AI super PAC bankrolled by Andreessen and a16z, does not just boost AI-friendly candidates at the federal level but also at the state level. 
  • The AIN, the pro-AI coalition partnered with a16z, lobbies against state AI regulation laws as well. Similarly, the Chamber of Progress, also partnered with a16z, lobbies against state AI regulations.
  • New York: In December 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed the Responsible AI Safety and Education Act (RAISE Act), an AI safety law that was significantly narrowed after lobbying by a16z, OpenAI, and others in the tech industry. Aside from lobbying on its own behalf on the RAISE Act, a16z also paid Jenkins, Patrick B. & Associates $50,000 to lobby for a16z on the RAISE Act.
    • In the first two months of 2026, a16z paid Jenkins, Patrick B. & Associates $20,000 to lobby on its behalf on AI issues and legislation like A9449 and S8828 (on transparency and safety requirements for AI model developers); A6540 (on requiring generative AI providers to include provenance data on synthetic content made available by the provider); S1169 (on algorithmic discrimination); and S9051 (on prohibiting AI chatbots from offering services deemed unsafe for minors).
  • Texas: In 2026, a16z hired Tony Essalih of Cornerstone Government Affairs for less than $22,890 (according to Texas lobbying client compensation codes) to lobby on its behalf. Essalih was former chief of staff to representative John Culberson (R-TX).
    • In 2025, a16z hired Essalih, Martin A. Hubert, and Annabelle Sebesta for less than $66,720 (according to Texas lobbying client compensation codes) to lobby on its behalf. Like Essalih, Hubert and Sebesta are both with Cornerstone Government Affairs.

Image Credit: “Marc Andreessen-9” by JD Lasica is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Artificial IntelligenceCryptocurrencyExecutive BranchLobbyingMarc AndreessenRevolving DoorTechTrump Watch
❮ Return to Our Work