The Trump administration has drafted an executive order that would effectively block states from enacting their own AI rules. According to a draft document obtained by The effort will involve a multipronged approach, including an “AI Litigation Task Force” run by the DOJ.
This suggests that the President has not given up on his desire to abandon federalism in favor of a more centralized power structure around artificial intelligence. Last summer, the administration released its report, which recommended that “the federal government should not allow AI-related federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations.”
Although it also states that the government should not “interfere with the rights of states to pass prudential laws that are not unnecessary restrictions to innovation,” this contrasts with some actions coming from the White House. At the behest of the President, Senator Ted Cruz tried to add a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation to the President’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed this summer. This amendment was ultimately rejected by the Senate 99–1.
The issue is heating up again as the President has said that “overregulation by states” will weaken the US economy and lead to “woke AI.” Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said that no such ban should be imposed, and said that states’ rights and federalism should be preserved.
politico There are reports that the administration may try to insert the appropriations moratorium again into the annual defense bill at the end of the year. It seems the administration is convinced that a patchwork of varying rules across the country would prove too difficult in the race for global AI dominance, and wants to use every lever of federal power to stop it.