President Donald Trump posted to his Truth Social account on Monday that he would sign an executive order this week to address differing state laws and processes for AI.
Trump’s post did not detail whether the order would attempt to preempt state laws on AI or whether it would establish a national standard on questions like training data, discrimination or safety. The White House did not provide additional information about the forthcoming order.
Trump said having one national policy for AI rather than differing state laws would support American dominance in the AI industry. He called some states legislating around AI “bad actors” and said state laws could destroy AI “in its infancy.”
“I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week,” he post said. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”
The tech industry applauded the announcement, having long been supportive of setting aside state laws governing AI.
Amy Bos , vice president of government affairs for tech industry group NetChoice, said a “patchwork” of state regulations would create a “compliance nightmare” for AI companies.
“This executive order is an important step towards ensuring that smart, unified federal policy — not bureaucratic red tape — secures America’s AI dominance for generations to come,” she said.
The head of Americans for Responsible Innovation, former Oklahoma Democratic House member Brad Carson, in a statement called AI preemption “politically toxic,” which he said has kept the effort from advancing in Congress . His philanthropic-backed group has argued for guardrails around AI.
“Voters, parents, and lawmakers across the country don’t want a rules-free zone for AI companies. An EO that circumvents Congress on this is going to face serious challenges in the courts and open up the Administration to public backlash,” he said.
Previous Draft
A draft executive order on state AI laws was first leaked and published by news outlets in November.
The draft would not ban state laws on AI but would instead establish a task force within the Justice Department to challenge state laws, “including on grounds that such laws unconstitutionally regulate interstate commerce, are preempted by existing Federal regulations, or are otherwise unlawful.”
The draft would also require the federal government to develop a list of specific AI laws that make their states ineligible for funding or that the task force should challenge, including those that “require AI models to alter their truthful outputs” or compel certain disclosures from AI developers or deployers.
The draft executive order would not establish a national standard on AI.
However, it would direct the Federal Communications Commission, in coordination with David O. Sacks, the president’s special adviser for AI and crypto, to start proceedings to decide whether to adopt a reporting and disclosure standard for AI.
It would also direct the Federal Trade Commission , also in coordination with Sacks, to issue a policy statement to explain when the FTC’s prohibition on deceptive acts or practices affecting commerce preempts state AI laws that “require alterations to the truthful outputs of AI models.”
Finally, it would direct Sacks and the Office of Legislative Affairs to prepare a legislative recommendation establishing a national framework for AI.
The order would also direct the Commerce Department to restrict states’ access to nondeployment funding, for community access and other uses, under the $42.5 billion rural internet Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, known as BEAD, based on their AI laws.
Congressional Debates
During negotiations over the compromise NDAA, which was released Sunday, the White House pushed for the inclusion of a pause on state AI laws.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was supportive of the push, and a moratorium has been a priority for Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz for much of the year.
Democrats, including Sens. Edward J. Markeyand Elizabeth Warren, came out against a moratorium in a “Dear Colleague” letter. They said it would “prevent states from responding to the urgent risks posed by rapidly deployed AI.”
Cruz supported the inclusion of a moratorium in the budget reconciliation bill this summer, but the provision was eventually removed in a 99-1 Senate vote.
The removal push was led, in part, by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who was concerned about protecting the state’s music industry. Tennessee has enacted legislation to give individuals a property right over their voice, including when it is generated by AI without permission.
The moratorium idea has not gained universal popularity within the Republican ranks in the months since.
In October, Sen. Josh Hawley called it “crazy” to preempt states that have legislated to protect children from online exploitation or deepfake porn.
“I want to protect kids from all those things, and I want the states to be able to do that. You know? I mean, I think it’s a terrible idea to say that, ‘Oh no, states, you can’t protect your kids in your own state,’” Hawley said.
During NDAA negotiations, Sen. Mike Rounds expressed his preference for letting state laws stand, at least until a national standard is in place on AI.
“The states do a very good job of looking out for their local concerns. And in many cases, or in some cases anyway, we should be able to take some of the ideas that they come up with and perhaps incorporate them into a national policy,” he said.
At that time, Rounds also questioned the White House’s authority to preempt state laws.
“I’m not sure what they can do, other than strongly recommend to Congress that we actually get to work and actually do some national policies on some of those same issues that are of concern to the states,” he said.
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