OpenAI's ChatGPT accounted for approximately 88% of the dollars and 96% of the transactions for identifiable AI tools used by US House of Representatives offices, committees, and institutional accounts during the year ending March 31, 2026.
Between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, there was at least $113,740 in spending on named AI vendors in the US House of Representatives. This total included $100,580 for ChatGPT across 798 transactions and $13,160 for Anthropic's Claude across 37 transactions.
ChatGPT's share of identifiable AI dollars in the US House of Representatives for the year ending March 31, 2026.
Partisan spending patterns
Democratic member offices in the US House of Representatives accounted for $54,165 in identified AI purchases, while Republican member offices spent $15,782. Democratic offices spent more than three times as much on AI as Republican offices.
ChatGPT purchases appeared in 44 Democratic member offices and 27 Republican offices. Anthropic's Claude was used in five Democratic offices and one Republican office.
Operational impact and vendor diversity
US Representative Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) said using AI to produce briefing memos is 'saving dozens and dozens of hours every week of staff time.' US Representative James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) stated his caseworkers use AI to help organize and expedite casework requests, but noted that decisions regarding constituents must be made by a human.
Staffers are famously overwhelmed, and actually AI is exacerbating that.
The US House of Representatives' AI spending records exclude free accounts, AI bundled into broader software contracts, and most Senate use. Samantha Carter, the Chief Administrative Officer's chief communications officer, said the US House's approach is deliberately not limited to a single vendor.
Lobbying and risk designations
Based on an analysis by Issue One, a nonprofit government watchdog, OpenAI spent $1 million on US federal lobbying in the first quarter of 2026, an 82.5% increase from the same period the previous year. Anthropic spent nearly $1.6 million on US federal lobbying in the first quarter of 2026, which more than tripled its spending from the first quarter of 2025.
In early March, the US Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk. Additionally, US Senate rules do not allow Claude for official use.
