Following the U.S. House's institution of a ban on staffers' use of Microsoft Copilot, as reported by Axios, various congressional staffers were invited to Microsoft's Spring Congressional Staff Delegation Trip, which included a demonstration of Copilot.
Members of Democratic and Republican congressional offices were invited by Microsoft Corp. to this privately financed trip from April 24-26. A notable invitee was Steve Dwyer, senior director of innovation for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, according to a disclosed invitee list. A representative for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer informed LegiStorm that Dwyer did not attend this event.
The Chief Administrative Officer, Catherine Szpindor, provided direction to House offices on the Copilot ban. The office also said that it will evaluate a government version of Copilot when it is released and determine if it will face the same ban as the commercial version, according to Axios' report.
The trip also included a briefing on "Responsible AI" that explained "Microsoft's vision for a responsible generative AI ecosystem," per a travel disclosure.
Before this event, Microsoft had not hosted a congressional staff delegation since October 2022, according to LegiStorm congressional travel data.
Although it is unclear if Microsoft won over any congressional offices during its spring delegation, with the House Committee on Homeland Security requesting via a letter sent May 9, 2024, that the president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, testify on the company's cybersecurity "shortcomings," it appears that the company is still facing an uphill battle with Congress.
