Trump Signs Executive Order to Go After ‘Burdensome’ State AI Laws

Gaby Souza0
Trump Signs Executive Order to Go After ‘Burdensome’ State AI Laws
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UPDATE 12/11: President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order intended to override certain state laws on AI.

The EO calls on various department heads to determine which state-level AI laws the administration deems objectionable. Attorney General Pam Bondi, for example, has 30 days to establish an AI Litigation Task Force, which will challenge “burdensome” state AI laws.

Within 90 days, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick must publish an evaluation of existing state AI laws and identify “onerous laws that conflict with [White House] policy,” though he can also identify laws that the Trump administration likes. States with onerous laws may be ineligible to receive funds from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

Meanwhile, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has 90 days to develop a policy under which a state law would be preempted based on violations of the FTC Act. And FCC Chair Brendan Carr will be required to initiate a proceeding to determine whether to adopt a federal reporting and disclosure standard for AI models that preempts conflicting state laws. 

Sen. Cruz, Secretary Lutnick, and Crypto Czar David Sacks with Trump in the Oval Office

Sen. Cruz, President Trump, Secretary Lutnick, and Crypto Czar David Sacks (Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

All these agencies will be consulting with David Sacks, Trump’s Special Advisor for AI and Crypto.

The executive order calls out Colorado’s AI law banning algorithmic discrimination, which the White House says “may even force AI models to produce false results in order to avoid a ‘differential treatment or impact’ on protected groups.”

The EO notes that, ideally, Congress would step in with a national AI law. But “until such a national standard exists, however, it is imperative that my Administration takes action to check the most onerous and excessive laws emerging from the States that threaten to stymie innovation.”

The White House doesn’t want Congress to create a law that preempts state AI laws related to child safety protections; AI compute and data center infrastructure, other than generally applicable permitting reforms; or state government procurement and use of AI.

On X, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who was in the Oval Office when Trump signed the EO, said the president “took an important step today to promote American leadership in AI. We don’t want China’s values of surveillance and communist control governing AI. We want American values of free speech, individual liberty, and respect for the individual.”

In a statement, Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel with the ACLU, noted that Congress has twice struck down moratoriums on state-level AI regulation, and argued that Trump’s EO “is not just dangerous, it’s unconstitutional,” particularly as it relates to funding.

“The Supreme Court has made clear that the president may not unilaterally and retroactively change the conditions on federal grants to states after the fact,” Venzke says. “Each of those grants are an agreement between states and the federal government, and threatening to withhold funds for schools, broadband buildout, nutritional support, and more for unrelated AI policy fights will unnecessarily harm the American people.”

Original Story 12/8:
President Trump is preparing to block US states from regulating AI, claiming that a patchwork of potentially conflicting laws could cripple the technology’s development. 

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“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. “We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors.”

President Trump

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In response, the president plans on announcing “a ONE RULE Executive Order this week” that would go after state-level AI laws. “THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS! AI WILL BE DESTROYED IN ITS INFANCY!” Trump further warned. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”

A draft EO seen by Politico suggests the White House would use the Justice Department to go after state laws it doesn’t like via an “AI Litigation Task Force.” It also says Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would be able to withhold federal broadband funds from states whose AI laws the White House doesn’t approve of. Those efforts would likely face legal challenges, however.

Numerous states, including California and Texas, have introduced or enacted laws aimed at ensuring the safe use of AI. However, the White House has been pressuring Congress to pass federal AI legislation that would preempt state laws. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, for example, initially included a provision that would have put a 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulation. It was removed by a 99-1 vote in July. Lawmakers tried again with the pending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but axed that provision, too.

So, Trump faces an uphill battle, which is probably why he’s going the executive order route. Whatever happens, it’s likely a win for technology companies racing to build new data centers and deploy new models, despite concerns about AI’s impact on society and the environment.

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  • Gaby Souza é criador do MdroidTech, especialista em tecnologia, aplicativos, jogos e tendências do mundo digital. Com anos de experiência testando dispositivos e softwares, compartilha análises, tutoriais e notícias para ajudar usuários a aproveitarem ao máximo seus aparelhos. Apaixonado por inovação, mantém o compromisso de entregar conteúdo original, confiável e fácil de entender