A fragmentary vote from Vice President JD Vance was required to pass Trump's budget settlement bill through the Senate on Tuesday, but the controversial section banning AI regulation has been far more explicitly repealed.
The lawmakers were crucial in the vote, with 99 people voting to strip the state AI amendment, and one Senator Tom Tillis (R-NC) – voted to maintain the moratorium. Even Ted Cruz (R-TX), who made a last-minute concession from Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who supported her state restrictions, abandoned his position when Blackburn retreated.
The rules were part of Trump's House Pass version of One Big Beautiful Bill Budget Settlement Act, and would have prevented the United States from enacting state-level laws that govern AI systems, with a few exceptions. The moratorium was originally designed to last for 10 years.
Tennessee's hometown, Blackburn, is the hub of the US country music world, facing pressure from Nashville, and the nation will begin to regulate AI. She signed a contract with Cruz over the weekend to support state-level AI moratoriums, with the exception of child safety and privacy rules only if it is reduced to five years.
Their agreement evaporated by Monday, with Blackburn waived the compromise, demanding a formal roll-call vote on the proposal, forcing each senator to support or oppose a state-level AI ban – even Ted Cruz's dangerous political events did not please the Jet to avoid the outcome.
So, having been hit by the bill with such a decisive vote will likely not return to the final bill, but it is still possible.
With the Senate passing the 940-page bill, the matter returns to the House for another vote. Both rooms must agree to the final version of the bill and hand it over to President Trump to sign the law.
Trump hopes that all this will happen by Friday, so he will be able to sign the bill before Congress rests on his July 4th holiday, giving the house valuable time to contest this one point.
Therefore, the US may continue to continue to maintain some degree of AI regulation despite fractures in 50 states. This is better than the current federal government records without comprehensive AI laws. ®
