House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) told Politico this week that his committee likely won’t advance a major AI bill until next year, a signal that ends any realistic path to a 2026 federal AI law. The House is already in recess, the Senate is staring down a monthlong break with a crowded agenda, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has rebuffed Democratic calls to bring members back early.

The absence of a floor is doing structural work. Colorado’s revised ADMT and chatbot rules are moving forward regardless of what Washington does, and they’re now guaranteed to arrive without federal preemption on top of them. That’s the story for anyone running AI in sales or marketing at a 5-to-30-person shop: the compliance surface is state-by-state, and it isn’t shrinking.

The week produced motion without progress. Nextgov cataloged a deluge of AI bills, including the Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and the Bennet-Welch AI Regulator Act, both released September 23. A separate Thune-Klobuchar liability effort has stalled over preemption pushback from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who’s unwilling to trade California’s and Colorado’s regimes for a weaker federal ceiling.

The lame-duck math is unforgiving. The Hill notes Congress will have under two months post-midterms before the next Congress is sworn in, and a Democratic House flip would make negotiations harder, not easier.

For owners, the practical read is simple. The White House’s recent federal AI moves don’t touch marketing disclosure. California’s new AI ad disclosure law and Colorado’s revised ADMT and chatbot rules are the live text. Audit against those, not against a federal bill that isn’t coming.

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