First lady Melania Trump walked into the White House East Room Wednesday alongside a humanoid robot called Figure 03 during a summit focused on AI and education. The robot strolled next to the first lady, welcomed guests in the room in several different languages and waved its hand. Melania Trump touted the robot as a humanoid educator that could homeschool children.

Meanwhile, Vermont’s independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced legislation Wednesday to impose a national moratorium on new AI data center construction. The bill would halt all new construction until Congress passes federal laws to protect workers and consumers and ensure the technologies don’t harm the environment. It comes as electricity costs rose nearly 7% last year, more than twice the overall rate of inflation, costing the average household $123 more in 2025. Experts and advocacy groups link rising electricity costs in part to the rapid construction of AI data centers, which have dramatically increased demand on the electric grid. This is Democratic Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “More than 100 local communities across 12 states have already enacted local moratoriums on data centers, and Congress itself has a moral obligation to stand with them and stop Big Tech from ruining their communities. Our legislation in the House and the Senate would hit the brakes on construction of new data centers until we address several of the key areas of harm AI poses.”