In a significant move to centralize artificial intelligence governance, President Donald Trump has issued an executive order asserting federal authority over state-level AI regulations. The order, signed during an Oval Office ceremony on Thursday evening, establishes a national framework for AI development that explicitly preempts individual states from creating their own regulatory standards.
President Trump justified this unprecedented federal intervention by emphasizing the strategic competition with China. “Coordinating policy among 50 different states would put the US at a disadvantage,” Trump stated, adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping operates without similar jurisdictional constraints. The administration positions this move as essential for maintaining American technological leadership in the burgeoning AI industry.
The executive order establishes a specialized task force charged with monitoring state-level AI legislation and challenging perceived regulatory overreach through judicial channels. Commerce Secretary has been directed to complete a comprehensive review of existing state laws within a 90-day timeframe. According to White House officials, this coordinated approach addresses the growing patchwork of over 1,000 pending AI-related bills across state legislatures.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf characterized the order as creating “a single national framework” to prevent state regulations from “potentially crippling the industry.” This represents one of the most substantial assertions of presidential authority over state governments and Congress regarding emerging technology governance.
The order faces anticipated legal challenges from multiple fronts, including environmental advocacy groups concerned about AI’s substantial energy consumption requirements. Food and Water Watch policy chief Mitch Jones condemned the order as “farcical” and pledged to oppose it “in Congress, in the states, in the courts, and with communities across this country.”