Arvind Raman

New Capabilities

Advanced in Senate Commerce Committee 16-12 on March 12, 2026; awaiting full Senate floor vote

In early 2026, America's AI manufacturing strategy is being pulled apart from within at the same moment China is accelerating. The Trump White House released a National AI Legislative Framework on March 20, 2026, formally asking Congress to preempt all state AI laws—but California, Colorado, and New York have pledged to keep enforcing their own rules and are preparing court challenges. The administration's most visible AI champion, David Sacks, stepped down as White House AI and Crypto Czar on March 26, 2026, moving to co-chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Separately, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been quietly dismantling the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership—the nationwide network of 600 centers serving small manufacturers—by freezing then sunsetting their federal funding, drawing bipartisan Senate criticism and casting a shadow over the March 2026 confirmation hearing for NIST director nominee Arvind Raman, a Purdue University engineering dean who advanced on a 16-12 party-line vote.

Updated Apr 26