Ranking Member Maxine Waters Sounds Alarm After OpenAI Agents Target SEC and Federal Agencies, Demands Law Enforcement Hold OpenAI Accountable

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to alarming new reports involving OpenAI agents targeting federal government websites, including activity involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and other Federal government agencies. 

“OpenAI’s recent targeting of federal government websites, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, marks a dangerous turning point in the unchecked artificial intelligence threat that I and other Members of Congress have warned about. However, rather than enforcing the law against these companies, Donald Trump and his administration have dismissed these dangers as a ‘HOAX,’ and Republicans in Congress have stood in the way of serious safeguards. In fact, reporting now suggests that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may have been aware of these troubling developments even as he flippantly downplayed the risk before my Committee two weeks ago.  

“We are out of time for excuses. AI is growing more powerful and more capable of reaching into and disrupting the systems our government, economy, and financial markets depend on. The threat is not coming. It is here. 

“Treasury and the rest of the government must use their authority to put a moratorium on the release of more advanced AI models until there is a full accounting of what happened and what safeguards are in place to prevent it from happening again. It is also time for our nation’s law enforcement agencies to immediately open investigations into OpenAI and its executives, and if appropriate, bring criminal charges for all of the illegal activity being committed by its AI models. Moreover, when Treasury convenes the Financial Stability Oversight Council this Tuesday, Secretary Bessent should stop pretending that AI doesn’t pose a threat and consider what immediate actions the Council can take to protect our financial system and economy.”