The FTC Chair would be required to issue a policy statement stating that “circumstances under which state laws require a change in the true output of an AI model are exempt from the FTC Act’s prohibition on engaging in deceptive acts or practices that affect commerce.”
When Cruz proposed a moratorium on state AI regulation in mid-2025, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) helped lead the fight against it. “Until Congress passes federal preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and the Online Privacy Framework, we can’t stop states from enacting laws that protect their citizens,” Blackburn said at the time.
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) also spoke out against Cruz’s plan, saying it would dismantle “good state consumer protection laws” related to robocalls, deepfakes, and autonomous vehicles.
Trump wants Congress to preempt state laws
In addition to reviving the Cruz plan, Trump’s draft executive order calls for new legislation to preempt state laws. The order will direct Trump administration officials to “jointly prepare for my review a legislative recommendation to establish a uniform federal regulatory framework for AI that preempts state AI laws that conflict with the policy set forth in this order.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said this week that restrictions on state AI laws could be included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Democrats are trying to keep the ban out of the bill.
“We have to allow the states to take the lead because we haven’t been able to create appropriate legislation so far in Washington,” Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, told Semaphore.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump claimed that states are “trying to embed DEI ideology into AI models.” Trump wrote, “We must have one federal standard instead of 50 state regulatory regimes. If we don’t, China will easily catch us in the AI race. Put it in the NDAA, or pass a separate bill, and no one will ever be able to compete with the US.”