As Congress debates regulations to control artificial intelligence, a Washington public relations company plans to roll out an AI tool for lobbyists and Congress staff that promises to stop the technology from making things up.
Précis AI, the company behind Willard, said the AI tool grounds answers in government databases, with a second AI model checking the work to avoid the fabricated citations that have plagued general-purpose chatbots.
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“This isn’t a chatbot with some databases that are grafted onto it. This is deep bespoke software,” said founder and CEO of Precis David Fuscus. “We have a full-time engineering staff of nine right now.”
Mr. Fuscus is a 30-year Washington hand who worked on Capitol Hill in the George H.W. Bush administration and as deputy chief of staff to former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.
Précis was founded in 2022, before ChatGPT was released to the public. The company said the Willard platform for lobbyists and policy people is wired into 233 government databases.
Willard entered the beta phase in June with Washington policy folks, Hill staffers and lobbyists.
Mr. Fuscus said Willard was built around security and accuracy because AI hallucinations are common and costly, especially in policy work.
“Law has referees,” he said. “It’s got judges. It’s got opposing counsel. … None of that exists in the Washington policy world.”
Willard, named for the famed D.C. hotelier Henry Willard, has a suite of tools including a massive federal database, highlight-and-click fact checker, bill and amendment analysis and member analysis.
FDA urged for robust review of mifepristone
Pro-life advocates are calling for the Food and Drug Administration’s expected update on its abortion drug study to integrate all the evidence.
The FDA has a court-ordered deadline Wednesday to file a formal status report on its ongoing regulatory review of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser called for a robust analysis that incorporates all relevant evidence, including Medicaid data collected after the removal of the in-person dispensing requirement.
“A truly rigorous study must draw on all relevant available evidence, including commercially available data analyzed and publicly released in April 2025 by the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Restoration of America Foundation,” Ms. Dannenfelser said
“The administration should not wait for the study’s completion to act,” she said. “Given that the Biden administration relied on insufficient evidence and flawed assumptions in removing the in-person dispensing requirement, the FDA should restore that safeguard immediately. And it can do so by settling its litigation against Louisiana.”
Louisiana sought a nationwide reinstatement of the in-person dispensing requirement, saying that remote prescribing undermines state abortion bans and lacks necessary safety justification.
The lawsuit is part of a wider push by states targeting the Biden-era rule that allows mail-order abortion drugs.
Oral arguments were held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Sept. 9, after emergency appeals and earlier stays by the Supreme Court.
America First Policy Institute wants more poll watchers
The Trump-allied America First Policy Institute is urging states to pass legislation it has crafted that would expand poll watcher access.
The think tank said that poll watchers hold election officials accountable and build voter confidence and according to the conservative think tank, only eight states — Alaska, Arkansas, Texas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Wisconsin — meet its three baseline standards.
“States not on this list should enact the three best practice provisions to improve the rights and access of poll watchers,” AFPI said.
These are: proximity, access to the full election timeline and the right to challenge voter eligibility.
Under the proximity provision, poll watchers can see and hear all election activity at their location, verify ballot reading and tallying, inspect records and move freely without escort.
They are barred from voting stations while a voter marks a ballot or is being assisted.
The timeline provision ensures that access covers early voting, Election Day and post-election audits and recounts.
Under the challenges provision, poll watchers may file sworn, written challenges to a voter’s eligibility, either at the polls or up to 30 days in advance with the supervisor of elections.
They cannot interact with the voter and challenged voters get a provisional ballot.
Along with the three basic provisions is the penalties measure, which treats frivolous challenges as a first-degree misdemeanor.
Each instance would be considered a separate offense, but good-faith actions are shielded from liability.
• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com. Click here to receive The Advocates in your inbox each week.
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