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Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

Senior Vice President

[email protected]

+1.202.434.7433

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Christian is based in our Washington, DC office and is a Senior Vice President of ML Strategies. He assists a variety of clients in their interactions with the federal government.

Prior to joining ML Strategies, Christian spent 20 years on Capitol Hill, the last 10 of which he served as Senior Counsel and Subcommittee Staff Director on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  In so doing, he served under the current Chair, Senator Maria Cantwell (D – WA), as well as former Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) and former Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL).  In this capacity, his work focused on a broad range of issues, including consumer protection, privacy and data security, cybersecurity, automobile and highway safety, product safety, sports, manufacturing, exports, and trade, while regularly interacting with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the Department of Commerce. 

Earlier, Christian held senior staff and advisory roles with the House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy & Commerce, where he worked on matters related to the FTC, NHTSA, CPSC, Department of Commerce, and the EPA.

Christian also previously served as a Senior Legislative Assistant to former Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) and to former US Representative Bill Luther (D-MN), advising each on Energy & Commerce Committee issues.  

viewpoints

The AI Action Plan and Its Key Implementations - AI: The Washington Report

July 29, 2025 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Aliza Inam

Read about the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan and its key implementations in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

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President Trump’s AI Action Plan and White House Control of Renewables — AI: The Washington Report

July 23, 2025 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Aliza Inam

Read about the Trump administration’s evolving AI strategy alongside its alignment with fossil fuel priorities, the potential slowdown of clean energy projects, bipartisan concerns over rising electricity costs and permitting delays, and how these moves may shape the energy and technology landscape in the months ahead in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

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Read about the House and Senate NDAA developments and the CDAO’s AI contract awards in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

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President Trump Signs Law with Over $1 Billion of AI Funding, and US Rescinds Chip Export Restrictions to China — AI: The Washington Report

July 11, 2025 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Nicole Y. Teo

Read about the administration’s latest actions on AI funding and export policy and what they signal for US competitiveness and national security in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

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Read about the Senate’s removal of the AI moratorium and the administration’s energy and infrastructure push to support AI expansion,  in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

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Read about the Senate’s proposed bipartisan Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act and the implications of the reconciliation package’s energy provisions in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

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AI.gov Inadvertent Disclosure Reveals President’s Plan as AI Czar Delivers First Public Comments — AI: The Washington Report

June 18, 2025 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Nicole Y. Teo

In this week’s edition of AI: The Washington Report, we analyze the significance of the government’s AI Action Plan, and how Sacks plans to work with the US private sector to further advance the country’s position on AI. 

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Trump Signs EO on AI Cybersecurity and Senate Floats New Approach to State AI Moratorium - AI: The Washington Report

June 13, 2025 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Nicole Y. Teo

Read about the implications of the new Executive Order on AI and cybersecurity and the Senate’s tactical revisions to the state-level moratorium in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI. 

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AI Law Moratorium Faces Senate Hurdles, and Federal Judge Limits Chatbots Free Speech — AI: The Washington Report

June 5, 2025 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Nicole Y. Teo, Aliza Inam

Read about the proposed federal moratorium on state AI laws and the legal implications of the court decision on AI and free speech in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI. 

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FTC Chair Ferguson Tells Congress Agency Needs Extra Resources to Enforce AI Deepfake Act, and Trump Signs Nuclear Energy EO — AI: The Washington Report

May 29, 2025 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Matthew Tikhonovsky

Read about the FTC’s resource needs to enforce the TAKE IT DOWN Act, the Trump administration’s AI infrastructure plans through advanced nuclear power, and the implications of the developments for future AI policy in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

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News & Press

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JD Supra has recognized ten Mintz attorneys in its 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards. The awards recognize attorneys and firms whose articles on the JD Supra platform were most read by C-suite executives, in-house counsel, media, and other professionals during 2024. 

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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld provided insights for a feature article published by The National Law Review examining the privacy implications of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony before a Congressional Subcommittee regarding harms perpetuated by the tech giant.
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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted in an article published by Bloomberg Law on how the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 may impact the industry due to the government’s purchasing power.
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In Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted on the Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020, which establishes security standards for IoT devices owned or controlled by the federal government and was recently signed into law by President Trump, and its potential “spillover effects” into the private sector.
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In an article published by Law360, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted on how the 2020 election could reshape the communications industry, specifically with regards to leadership on relevant congressional committees and the possibility of reform of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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In an article published by Law360, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted on lawmaker efforts to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted in an article published by Reuters discussing the increase of price gouging due to COVID-19 and its legality.
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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted in an article published by Legaltech News on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s approval of robotics company Nuro’s request for three exemptions to deploy its fully autonomous car fleet in the United States.
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On December 9, 2019, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian T. Fjeld participated in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Business Table of Experts discussion hosted by the San Francisco Business Times. During the forum, panelists addressed how businesses can leverage AI to drive innovation, the impact AI will have on the economy and on society, and the meaning of artificial intelligence itself.
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In this Q&A published by Legaltech News, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld—former lead Democratic Senate staffer tasked with shepherding the American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act (AV START Act) through the Senate—discussed why Congress failed to pass the AV START Act, how autonomous vehicles’ complexity isn’t lawmakers’ largest hurdle, and why the data privacy debate may factor into the next autonomous vehicle bill.
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Events & Speaking

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Moderator
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Nov
5
2020

Decision 2020: Post-Election Breakdown

ML Strategies Webinar

View the Discussion Recording

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Speaker
Panelist
Jun
19
2019

Health Care & Cybersecurity: A Powerful Combination

ML Strategies, 701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20004

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Recognition & Awards

  • JD Supra Readers’ Choice Award, Top Author – Artificial Intelligence, 2025 

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Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

Senior Vice President

Washington, DC