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Senate Votes 99-1 to Remove AI Moratorium, Reinstate State Oversight

The decision protects states’ ability to pursue diverse AI guardrails, sending the reconciliation package back to the House

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Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., walks to board a bus to the White House with other Senate Republicans for a meeting with President Donald Trump on his spending and tax bill, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, stands in an elevator as Republicans begin a final push to advance President Donald Trump's tax breaks and spending cuts package, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Overview

  • The Senate voted 99-1 on July 2 to strip a 10-year ban on state AI regulation from President Trump’s tax reconciliation bill.
  • Sen. Marsha Blackburn partnered with Sen. Ed Markey to lead the bipartisan effort, while Sen. Thom Tillis cast the lone vote in favor of keeping the moratorium.
  • Striking the provision restores state authority over AI policy and empowers all 50 states to advance laws on deepfakes, bias audits, privacy and child protections.
  • Major technology firms had pressed for a single federal framework to avoid a regulatory patchwork, but concerns over Big Tech influence and Byrd Rule constraints shifted momentum.
  • Congressional leaders will reconvene in the House to finalize the reconciliation bill’s language prior to presidential signing.