Trump signing order blocking AI regulation by states

President Donald Trump said Monday he will attempt to strip states of the authority to regulate the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) industry, arguing centralized rulemaking is vital to maintain US dominance.

“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI,” he posted on his Truth Social platform, announcing an executive order that would seek to prevent state-level regulation.

Trump has positioned the United States at the forefront of the global race to build and control AI tools predicted to transform everything from the economy to military technology.

However, the White House is encountering skepticism in Congress and from within its own MAGA movement, where some are wary of the technology’s potential economic and social harms.

Critics cite polls showing rising concerns about AI, particularly among young people worried about securing and retaining jobs.

Figures within his own camp, including strategist Steve Bannon, complain that Trump’s close ties to Big Tech put him out of step with his political base.

The announcement that he will sign an executive order centralizing AI regulation comes after Congress twice refused to vote on measures that would override state-level laws on AI.

“We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS,” Trump wrote.

“THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS! AI WILL BE DESTROYED IN ITS INFANCY! I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week.”

The order is expected to spark political opposition and legal challenges, even as details remain unknown.

A draft order seen by The Hill last month would have created a task force to challenge state AI laws and restricted certain broadband funding for states with regulations deemed overly burdensome.

The proposal to prevent states from pursuing their own regulatory strategies has been advanced by Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, a Silicon Valley insider, with the backing of major industry players, including OpenAI chief Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

“State-by-state AI regulation would drag this industry to a halt, and it would create a national security concern as we need to make sure that United States advances AI technology as quickly as possible,” Huang told reporters during a visit to Congress last week.

Industry leaders complain that more than 1,000 AI-related bills are currently moving through state legislatures.

“How do you cope with those varied regulations and compete with countries like China, which are moving fast in this technology?” Google CEO Sundar Pichai told “Fox News Sunday.”