AUTHORSHIP
2 July 2026
Gina Raimondo's 'RAISE US' initiative reflects long record of tech-sector alignment
The Raimondo-led AI workforce initiative follows a tenure as Secretary of Commerce in close alignment with tech sector interests
Attribution: Image in Public Domain on Wikimedia Commons
I. Introduction
ISSUE AREAS
PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
TECH REGULATION
ANTITRUST & COMPETITION
In June 2026, former Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the launch of RAISE US, a bipartisan AI policy nonprofit backed with $500 million in funding from leading AI firms Amazon, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI. Co-led by former Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb (R-IN) with the participation of corporate executives and governors of both parties, RAISE US will focus on preparing the U.S. workforce on AI-related job losses. Ahead of the 2028 presidential cycle, some observers anticipate that the group stands to impact the AI policy debate and influence the platforms of prospective candidates.
RAISE US' approach to easing AI-related labor market disruption, which centers on tax incentives and reforms to the unemployment insurance system, contrasts with proposals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) proposed AI sovereign wealth fund. RAISE US notably does not support proposals for a universal basic income (UBI), a measure favored by certain progressive figures as well as some tech industry leaders. RAISE US’s emphasis on retraining programs has also been met with skepticism given limited evidence that such programs meaningfully reduce workers' exposure to automation. Beyond this, the fact that the initiative has received significant funding from corporations whose services are driving AI-related labor market disruption is fundamentally in tension with its goals.
Raimondo’s ascension to this new role follows her tenure as Secretary of Commerce, a position that became unusually prominent on tech policy following the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act and the generative AI boom. Throughout her tenure, Raimondo was criticized by public interest groups for her perceived friendliness towards tech industry interests, a stark contrast with anti-monopolist appointees by Biden. This included, among other things, criticism of her meetings with Big Tech executives, as well as her public opposition to European tech regulation efforts. In the second half of the Biden administration, she took a leading role on early AI policy efforts, which was met with positive reception from AI industry leaders.
II. Early Tech Policy Approach as Secretary of Commerce (2021-22)
RELATIONSHIP WITH TECH SECTOR
During the first two years of the Biden administration, with Democrats holding a trifecta in Congress, there was genuine momentum towards structural changes targeting Big Tech platforms. This included both proposed antitrust legislation and the revitalization of previously dormant federal antitrust enforcement efforts, a sharp break from permissive enforcement in the tech sector. Amid this environment, Raimondo stood in contrast with other members of the administration, including FTC Chair Lina Khan and Assistant AG for the Antitrust Division Jonathan Kanter, quickly acquiring a reputation as 'tech's favorite Biden official’ per Axios.
During her time as Secretary of Commerce, Raimondo's calendar, which was obtained through FOIA requests, reflected an extraordinary level of access for corporate executives. In her first seven months in office, Raimondo participated in 230 meetings with top executives or representatives from industry trade groups, including multiple meetings with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Amid this, watchdog groups would raise ‘revolving door’ concerns between her department and the tech sector, which would be echoed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) in a 2022 letter.
APPROACH TO EU TECH REGULATION EFFORTS
As the Biden administration and Congress both pursued antitrust enforcement against Big Tech firms, the same companies were lobbying Washington policymakers to intervene against tech regulation efforts abroad. In 2021, Raimondo publicly criticized the European Union's proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA), a stance met with praise from tech lobbying groups. In doing so, Raimondo was accused of undermining domestic tech antitrust efforts, including the Biden administration’s own initiatives. Raimondo’s stance was met with criticism from members of her own party including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who accused the Raimondo-led Department of Commerce of effectively “lobbying on behalf of Big Tech companies overseas.”
III. Role in AI Policy as Secretary of Commerce (2023-24)
ROLE IN BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S AI EFFORTS
The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 and the subsequent beginning of the modern ‘generative AI era’ shifted the tech policy landscape dramatically, with issues like privacy and content moderation supplanted in policy debates by concerns surrounding the technology. The passage of the CHIPS and Sciences Act in 2022 had already given Raimondo an unusually prominent role in tech policy; the Washington Post’s Josh Tyrangiel described her as the de facto “secretary of technology” at the onset of the AI era. Over the next two years, Raimondo would emerge as a leading voice on AI policy within the administration, and would be anointed as 'America's point woman on AI’ in a 2024 Time profile.
In April 2023, Raimondo touted the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) ability to lead on AI regulation in ways she considered favorable to industry. She described NIST's AI Risk Management Framework as the "gold standard” for AI regulation, specifically noting it was something "industry likes." Biden's Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence in October 2023 further empowered Raimondo's role in AI policy by routing AI governance through the NIST. The provisions of the order itself received criticism from some competition advocates, who argued its compliance structure favored larger AI firms over smaller players, including open source developers
RELATIONSHIP WITH AI EXECUTIVES
As her position became increasingly relevant to AI governance policy, Raimondo would acquire a reputation of closeness to AI industry leaders. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised her on the record for building a strong relationship with AI executives (“Gina listens”); one AI CEO would compare her outsized role on AI policy to Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors (“It looks like a team sport, but they’re really giving Steph Curry all the biggest shots”).
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president since 2015, was described as an advisor to Raimondo on tech issues in the 2024 Time Magazine profile. In the piece, he touted her role in transforming the Department of Commerce into the “very center of the federal government for a focus on next-generation technology.” After leaving office, the extent of Raimondo’s relationship with Big Tech executives on AI policy has become further apparent. Unsealed documents revealed that Mark Zuckerberg had personally engaged with then-Secretary Raimondo on Meta’s AI policy. In an email released as part of Exhibit 8 in the Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc. case, it was revealed that “Mark [Z] has been engaging with high-level govt officials on...our AI strategy, including Sec. Raimondo and NSA Jake Sullivan.”
IV. Conclusion
Months prior to the launch of RAISE US, Raimondo authored an op-ed in The New York Times laying out her vision for how the U.S. should navigate AI's disruption of the labor market. Connecting her father’s loss of employment in the 1980s to concerns currently facing workers, she spoke about the need for policymakers and businesses to confront the prospect of AI-related job losses. In the piece, she emphasized the need for retraining programs, including through policies such as tax credits to incentivize businesses to participate. While she focused on the roles of lawmakers and the private sector, the piece notably omits any mention of labor unions’ roles in this transition. Collective bargaining is an important tool for workers seeking protection against AI-related job displacement, and this omission is consistent with Raimondo’s long-term poor relationship with organized labor.
Though RAISE US’s advisory board does feature union representation through AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler, the board includes a significantly larger number of corporate executives. More relevant than the composition of RAISE US's advisory board is the initiative's funding structure, which gives corporations driving AI workforce disruption a leading role in crafting AI policy. An AFL-CIO poll in May 2026 found that when voters were asked whom they trusted on AI between unions, Democrats, Republicans, or employers, labor unions were favored by a 38% plurality. In contrast, just 6% chose employers, the least popular of the four options. Similar polling by Data for Progress on who voters trust to regulate AI found that labor unions were the single most popular option (27%), with “employers” once again dead last. That RAISE US is funded and disproportionately influenced by companies responsible for AI-related job displacement, while largely minimizing input from organizations representing affected workers, undermines its stated goals.
V. Additional notes
1
See: Executive Order 14110: "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence" (88 FR 75191) on October 30, 2023, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/01/2023-24283/safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence
2
Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), is also a board member; though it advocates on behalf of workers, it is not a labor union. See: https://www.raiseus.ai/about
Aidan Smith
Founder, Labyrinth Insights
