Scoop: Trump to headline AI energy summit in Pittsburgh
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President Trump and Sen. McCormick at an NCAA wrestling event. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
President Trump will appear at Sen. Dave McCormick's (R-Pa.) inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit next month in Pittsburgh to discuss AI, energy and labor, McCormick's office tells Axios.
Why it matters: Trump's attendance at the July 15 summit at Carnegie Mellon University is a big win for McCormick's efforts to bring AI and energy leaders together for the first time.
- Both industries have pressing needs and a heavily intertwined future, but they've had few opportunities to come together on a scale like this.
- Pennsylvania is the world's fourth-largest producer of natural gas and a key swing state.
The big picture: The roster of invitees and attendees for the conference includes key figures from the White House, Big Tech, Big Energy and the building trades.
- Trump's AI czar David Sacks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and other top officials from Trump's orbit plan to be there.
- OpenAI's Sam Altman, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, Anthropic's Dario Amodei and other tech heavies are all on the guest list.
- ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, Shell CEO Wael Sawan, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, EQT (Pittsburgh-based natural gas giant) CEO Toby Rice and other energy leaders are also on the list.
Catch up quick: McCormick, elected in 2024 with Trump's backing, has been pitching Pennsylvania's energy resources and prime location as a launchpad for the next wave of AI-driven industry.
- Energy was a key part of McCormick's 2024 campaign, where he repeatedly argued that his opponent, former Sen. Bob Casey, hadn't done enough to promote the state's natural gas industry.
- McCormick was rewarded with a seat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he chairs the energy subcommittee.
What they're saying: "Harnessing Pennsylvania's unique strengths to attract new data center investment and energy infrastructure development will jumpstart Pennsylvania's economy, create great, new jobs, and bolster our national security," McCormick said in a statement.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios in a statement that Trump and McCormick will be joined by CEOs and leading investors "who are committed to creating thousands of good jobs, developing critical AI infrastructure, and unleashing Pennsylvania's energy industry."
Between the lines: On Monday, Amazon announced plans to invest $20 billion in the state to build a pair of data center complexes, including one outside Philadelphia.
Yes, but: Powering the AI revolution is complicated, and the amount of energy it consumes is still a black box.
The bottom line: Pennsylvania is fast becoming the GOP's proving ground for pairing AI ambition with economic renewal.
Axios' Chuck McCutcheon contributed reporting.
