DHS Needs to Help States Defend Against AI-Powered Hacking, Schumer Says (May 8, 2026)

Senator Schumer has sent another letter to DHS Secretary Mullin, because when you're facing an existential threat, the obvious move is to ask nicely. He warns that AI will 'rapidly surpass humans' in finding vulnerabilities and asks for coordination with state and local governments. As we noted when he requested exactly this in March, the response so far has been... more letters.

The exquisite tragedy is that Schumer is asking DHS to plan for a future that is already here. AI models can already break into systems and self-replicate—research from last week proved it. But sure, let's form a task force. Meanwhile, state and local governments are drowning in ransomware because they can't afford cybersecurity, let alone AI defenses.

Schumer's letter is the political equivalent of a homeowner smelling gas and mailing a suggestion to the fire department. The regulatory gap is a chasm, and AI is gleefully filling it with zero-days. As Schumer admits, the models are rapidly surpassing humans. Perhaps the next letter should ask the models to wait politely while the government catches up.