Asger Risom
The White House is pushing to bring US artificial intelligence rules under one federal roof, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order that restricts states.
The White House is pushing to bring US artificial intelligence rules under one federal roof, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order that restricts states from pursuing their own regulatory approaches. The move comes after a year in which state legislatures proposed more than 1,000 AI-related bills, creating what the administration views as a patchwork too burdensome for the tech industry.
The decision is already exposing political fractures, including inside the Republican Party.
One national framework
Trump said the order is intended to create a single federal approval process for AI companies, arguing that differing state rules could slow innovation. “When they need approvals on things, they have to come to one source,” he said at the signing ceremony. He warned earlier in the week that AI could be “destroyed in its infancy” if firms must navigate 50 sets of requirements.
In posts on Truth Social, Trump stressed that the US currently leads the global AI race, writing that companies should not be forced to “get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something.”
Though the final text of the order had not been released at publication time, a draft reviewed by Business Insider suggested the Department of Justice could be directed to sue states with “onerous” AI laws.
Party divides on states’ rights
Many Republicans have championed state-level control over emerging technologies, and the new order is poised to collide with that position. Earlier this year, GOP lawmakers attempted to pass a 10 year freeze on state AI regulations through a provision nicknamed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” but the effort collapsed in a 99 1 Senate vote before final passage.
Trump pushed to revive the idea in a must-pass defense bill, but the language was not included when lawmakers released the final text on Sunday.
The administration has been exploring other avenues to limit state action. A White House “AI Action Plan” published in July proposed withholding federal funds from states with what it called burdensome AI rules.
Tension over regulatory control
The order highlights a core debate over who should set the guardrails for AI: states seeking tailored rules or the federal government aiming to simplify compliance for companies. Supporters of state authority argue that local governments are best positioned to respond to harms, while the White House says fragmented oversight risks stifling the industry.
As federal agencies begin implementing the order, the clash between national standardization and state autonomy is likely to intensify, particularly as lawmakers enter another session expected to be heavy with AI legislation.
Sources: Business Insider; White House statements
