WASHINGTON-It took talk of the possible end of humanity to bring them together.

Left-wing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon warned Tuesday that artificial intelligence could destroy humanity without government intervention, echoing growing concerns from researchers in back-to-back speeches. The duo said urgent action is needed to enact some of the first regulations on the technology, amid doubts about whether Congress and the Trump administration are equipped to tackle the emerging dangers.

"Regulating AI is not a progressive issue. It is not a conservative issue. It is as American as apple pie," Sanders said, following a week in which AI concerns broke through with the general public. He said that President Trump's "ignorance regarding this issue is truly embarrassing" and Congress "has been asleep at the wheel."

Bannon, the MAGA leader and host of the "War Room" podcast, said he and Sanders "have a quite different opinion on the president of the United States but we're trying to rise above partisanship." He said that AI critics have been called "bad, dumb and evil" but "the last week has shown we're none of them."

The comments at the "Pro-Human Assembly" rally came a day after President Trump called warnings about AI threatening to destroy humanity a hoax. The gap between the White House's industry-friendly approach and populist figures from both parties shows how the technology is scrambling traditional political alliances.

Lawmakers and a top OpenAI official said efforts to pass the first federal regulations to contain powerful models have new momentum. But Trump's opposition, arguments about what kind of rules are needed, and a tight calendar ahead of the midterms limit what can happen.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) has said he talked to Trump about summoning AI chief executives for a meeting in the next week, but noted industry disagreements and the lack of clarity on key issues.

"If I called an emergency session today and I brought everybody in the house and said, 'Let's regulate AI,' nobody in the room knows yet what that should look like. Why? Because we don't have the latest information," Johnson added.

"Candidly, you have a bunch of people who don't even know what AI is, and so you have a lot of education that needs to happen," said Rep. Kat Cammack (R., Fla.).

Researchers worry that AI could eventually reject human commands, potentially meaning models could determine that humans are no longer needed to achieve their goals. Recent hacks carried out by AI systems have fueled those fears, leading to recent warnings from a departing Anthropic researcher and others that the technology could destroy civilization.

Sanders has proposed banning the approval of data centers powering AI models and superintelligence that exceeds the capabilities of the most gifted humans.

Bannon, who said he shares Sanders's concerns on the risks of cyberattacks, biological weapons and other harms if AI development continues at the current pace, said AI needs to be addressed through executive action because it is evolving so rapidly.

Many Democrats are taking aim at Trump for what they call a reckless approach. They point to AI CEOs who have forged close ties with the administration.

"I don't think the president could spell 'AI' if I gave him the first letter," Rep. Stephen Lynch (D., Mass.) told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a House Financial Services Committee hearing Tuesday.

Trump and industry allies say the best way to prevent harms from AI is by conducting light-touch oversight like a recent 30-day voluntary review period during which makers of powerful models submit them for federal government testing.

Some lawmakers warned that moving too quickly also carried risks.

"If we rush this right now just to do something to satiate the American people, we could be doing them a lot more harm in the long run than in the short term right now. And that's our ultimate concern," said Rep. Max Miller (R., Ohio.).

Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, told reporters Tuesday that the company supported a provision in a bipartisan bill that would embed outside evaluators at leading AI developers to ensure they are safe. The endorsement came days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other top executives called for a coordinated slowdown of model development to prevent catastrophe.

Lehane said that OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, the three leading AI companies, have been talking for weeks about how they could work together on a narrow set of standards to limit catastrophic harms from AI such as biological weapons without government involvement, while continuing to push for progress in Washington. He was meeting with several lawmakers proposing AI bills Monday and Tuesday.

"There's a recognition that we are in a new phase or a new chapter in terms of capabilities of these systems," Lehane said.

The provision is in a bill co-sponsored by Rep. Lori Trahan (D., Mass.), who has called on fellow Democrats to compromise on a more moderate approach that could win Republican votes. Divisions within the Democratic Party could be a challenge for future AI bills if they win back power in November.