Trump weighs executive order to curb state-level AI regulations

President Trump is considering an executive order that would sharply limit the ability of individual states to regulate artificial intelligence, setting up a clash between the White House, tech-industry allies, and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who argue the move would undercut long-standing principles of federalism. A draft version of the order, circulating among administration officials, outlines an aggressive federal push to override state laws viewed as too restrictive for the rapidly growing AI sector.

According to the draft, the administration would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch a task force charged with challenging state AI statutes. The panel would assess whether these laws improperly interfere with interstate commerce or conflict with existing federal authority. It would also examine opportunities for federal rules to supersede state regulations outright. Bondi’s team would work closely with several senior administration advisers, including AI and cryptocurrency policy lead David Sacks, a well-known skeptic of state and federal attempts to rein in emerging technologies.

The order would also instruct Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to complete a 90-day review of state measures deemed excessively burdensome. States found to fall into that category could risk losing access to certain federal broadband programs. The Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, would be asked to collaborate with Sacks on developing a national AI reporting requirement, further centralizing the federal government’s role in AI oversight.

In a broader step toward restructuring national AI policy, the draft order calls for Sacks and the White House’s legislative affairs office to craft new federal legislation. Their goal would be the creation of a national regulatory framework robust enough to supersede stringent or inconsistent rules emerging at the state level. Such a framework would complement Trump’s recent endorsement of a congressional initiative seeking a moratorium on new state AI laws while lawmakers negotiate the contours of federal oversight.

Although the proposal has strong backing from many tech-industry leaders who have long argued that a patchwork of state laws stifles innovation, the political response has been unusually fractured. Several Republican governors and prominent conservative lawmakers have publicly rejected any effort to limit state authority on AI, warning that the administration’s plan runs counter to core principles of states’ rights. Some high-profile voices within the MAGA movement have also joined the criticism, signaling a rare rift within the president’s base.

Democratic lawmakers have registered their objections as well. Senate Democrats have signaled they would not support federal pre-emption of state AI laws, and key committee leaders in the House have dismissed the possibility of attaching a moratorium to the annual defense policy bill. Earlier in the year, a similar attempt by Senator Ted Cruz to incorporate an AI moratorium into a major GOP tax and budget package collapsed after a bipartisan group of senators moved to strip the provision.

Opponents of the draft order argue that state-level guardrails remain essential for consumer protection, child safety, and content integrity at a time when AI tools are evolving faster than federal oversight mechanisms. Supporters of AI safety measures on both sides of the aisle increasingly view state initiatives as a critical backstop until Congress settles on a national framework. If Trump proceeds, the resulting fight is likely to become a major test of the balance between federal authority, technological innovation, and state autonomy in the years ahead.