President Trump is preparing an executive order that would challenge state artificial intelligence (AI) laws as part of a broader White House effort to establish federal control over AI regulation, according to a draft document obtained by several news outlets.
The proposed order would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to create a task force targeting state AI measures and would threaten to withhold certain federal funds from states passing regulations deemed “onerous.” It would also instruct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue guidance on how existing consumer protection laws apply to AI systems and could supersede state legislation.
It would also direct the Commerce Department to review state laws and issue guidelines that would withhold broadband funding in some cases.
The document argues that American AI companies “must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” citing more than 1,000 AI-related bills introduced in state legislatures that “threaten to undermine that innovative culture.”
Trump shared his support for congressional action to prevent individual state AI regulation on Truth Social on Tuesday. “We MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes,” he wrote.
As part of the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday, Trump reiterated his criticism of states’ ability to regulate AI.
A White House official declined to confirm the order’s authenticity, according to The Hill.
“Trump gets this one right: potentially 50 different regulatory regimes won’t help American developers win the AI race against China. Stopping that mess is what the Commerce Clause was built for,” Jessica Melugin, director of the Center for Technology & Innovation with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said in an email.
The potential executive action reflects an ongoing fight between Trump, Republicans and state lawmakers over AI oversight that has intensified since the president’s second term began. After cultivating relationships with conservative Silicon Valley leaders during his 2024 campaign, Trump has aligned himself with the tech industry’s preference for minimal AI regulation.
The president and Republican allies have particularly opposed California measures championed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) aimed at addressing AI’s technological and societal risks.
Trump and GOP leadership initially sought to include a federal ban on state AI laws in the president’s tax-cut legislation, but removed the provision after facing opposition from tech-skeptical conservatives. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) threatened to vote against Trump’s signature bill if the policy remained.
The controversy resurfaced this week when Punchbowl News reported that House Republican leaders were considering attaching a similar provision to the National Defense Authorization Act. The prospect drew bipartisan criticism, with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) vowing to block what he called a “poison pill” and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) suggesting the move “shows what money can do.”
“The biggest risk that AI poses to democracy today is concentrating power: Trillion-dollar AI companies enriching billionaire investors, automation benefiting employers while putting workers out of jobs, and proprietary technologies that help the powerful encode and enforce the biases of the status quo,” said Nathan E. Sanders, author of “Rewiring Democracy.”
“Congress should be taking actions to mitigate these risks but shows no signs of doing so,” Sanders said. “We need states to continue taking the lead on pushing out the first consumer, worker, and rights protections for Americans grappling with AI’s rewiring of democracy.”
