Overview
- Trump announced on Truth Social that he will issue an executive order this week to create a single federal AI rulebook overriding state approvals, after aides said he reviewed a near-final draft.
- Leaked drafts describe a Department of Justice AI Litigation Task Force, agency reviews of state measures, potential funding consequences for states deemed overly restrictive, and a push for national standards via the FCC and FTC.
- The escalation comes days after Congress declined to insert AI preemption into the annual defense bill and months after the Senate voted 99–1 to remove a proposed 10‑year moratorium on state AI regulations.
- Republican figures including Ron DeSantis and Marjorie Taylor Greene denounced the plan as federal overreach, while tech leaders such as Sundar Pichai and Jensen Huang argue a state-by-state patchwork would hamper U.S. competitiveness.
- Legal scholars say a unilateral executive order to undercut state AI laws faces uncertain constitutional footing and anticipate swift court challenges.