Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that suspends all laws restricting artificial intelligence and prevents states from regulating the rapidly emerging technology. The order also creates a federal task force with “sole responsibility” for challenging AI laws in each state.
At the signing ceremony, the president emphasized his eagerness for AI companies to “invest” in the United States, saying, “If we had to get 50 different approvals from 50 different states, we can forget about that.”
Republicans failed to pass a similar 10-year moratorium on state laws regulating AI as part of President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year, and the Senate voted 99-1 to remove the ban from the bill. Trump's order revives that effort, which failed amid bipartisan opposition and Republican infighting, but it lacks the force of law.
The Securing a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence order is a victory for Silicon Valley and AI companies, which have campaigned against regulation of their technology, arguing that a hodgepodge of state laws burdens the industry with unnecessary bureaucracy. AI companies and the Trump administration have not offered any comprehensive proposals to regulate the social, environmental, and political harms of AI, leaving only lax federal regulations compared to laws passed or considered by some states.
The order includes a number of other orders aimed at blocking the regulation of AI, including directing the Justice Department to create an AI Litigation Task Force whose sole responsibility would be to challenge state laws. The order also calls for a review of existing state laws that could “force AI models to alter their truthful output.” Potential targets include California, which requires companies to disclose safety testing of new AI models, and Colorado, which requires employers to conduct risk assessments and take precautions against algorithmic discrimination in employment.
President Trump's order has received pushback from state leaders and various civil liberties groups across the country. They argue that the order will further empower Silicon Valley companies, leaving more vulnerable people and children vulnerable to chatbots, surveillance and algorithmic control.
“President Trump’s campaign to intimidate, harass, and punish states that try to pass common-sense AI regulations is just another chapter in his strategy to hand over control of one of the most innovative technologies of our time to the CEOs of big tech companies,” said Teri Ole, vice president of Economic Security California Action, which co-sponsored an AI security bill in California this year. “This is not a recognition of American innovation.”
President Trump has framed the need for comprehensive AI regulation both as a necessity for technological development and as a means to prevent leftist ideology from infiltrating generative AI, a common conservative complaint among tech leaders such as Elon Musk.
“It can't go through 50 states. You have to get one approved. 50 states is a disaster. It only takes one state to wake up, and they all have to happen,” Trump said at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum last month. “There will be some Waystars, but they don't want to do that. They want to end the AI.”
Earlier this week, he echoed that sentiment in a post on Truth Social, saying, “We're beating every country right now, but that won't last long if 50 states (many of them bad actors) are involved in the rules and approval process. There's no doubt about it! AI will be destroyed in its infancy!”
The Trump administration has repeatedly vowed to equip the United States with the world's most advanced artificial intelligence capabilities as part of the escalating AI arms race between the United States and China. In doing so, the White House has largely ignored concerns from rights groups and researchers about the environmental costs of AI, the potential for financial bubbles to destroy the economy, and the potential for AI to harm mental health and spread misinformation.
“You won't win the future of AI by worrying about safety,” JD Vance said in a speech at the AI Summit in February.
The Trump administration has forged close relationships with technology industry leaders and appointed industry figures to key roles within the government. The executive order gives an influential role to the Special Counsel on AI and Cryptocurrency, a role held by billionaire venture capital investor and technology advocate David Sachs, and directs him to consult with a litigation task force when deciding which state laws to challenge.
Sasha Howarth, executive director of the Technology Oversight Project, called the order “bad policy.”
“The Trump v. Sacks executive order proves that the White House only listens to the CEOs of the powerful big tech companies that fund their banquet halls, not the ordinary people they pretend to serve,” Howarth said. “The AI EO will be remembered as an unmitigated disaster that put the Trump administration at odds with more than two-thirds of Americans and the AI-skeptic MAGA base.”
