To regulate or not to regulate artificial intelligence? That is the question President Donald Trump is posing once again — and this time, he may finally take matters into his own hands. In a recent post on Truth Social, Trump announced his plans to sign a “ONE RULE Executive Order,” with the goal of bringing all AI regulation in the United States under a single federal framework.
“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in 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. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”
What Is Trump’s Executive Order on AI Regulation?
Trump has threatened to sign an executive order on artificial intelligence that would create a single federal framework for regulating AI. This order would also effectively ban any state regulations on AI, even redirecting funds from U.S. states with laws considered harmful to AI development under the act.
Replacing state AI regulations with one federal rule has been at the top of Trump’s to-do list for a while now. In July, Trump pushed for his “Big Beautiful Bill” to contain a provision banning state regulations on AI, but it was removed by the Senate. Less than a month later, Trump released an AI Action Plan to accelerate AI development in America, including a similar provision that called for federal funding to be redirected away from states with “burdensome AI regulations.”
Most recently, Trump flirted with the idea of signing an executive order to block state AI regulations in November, although he eventually backed off after facing fierce backlash from both ends of the political spectrum. With a possible executive order back on the table, Trump must walk the fine line of reassuring his Big Tech allies while trying to avoid alienating the very workers who helped him return to power.
What’s the State of AI Regulation in the U.S. Right Now?
To date, there is no federal law regulating AI in the United States. While Biden passed an executive order that laid the groundwork for nationwide AI regulation, Trump revoked the act shortly after starting his second term without offering a replacement.
In response, a growing number of states have stepped up to fill this void. For instance, New York enacted legislation making safety plans mandatory for frontier AI models; California approved a law to regulate companion chatbots; and Colorado passed a bill requiring any “high-risk system” to defend users against “algorithmic discrimination.” Trump’s longtime frenemy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has even proposed an “AI Bill of Rights” in his state to address data privacy concerns, deepfakes and mental health chatbots, to name a few.
The result has been an increasingly complex web of state regulations that Trump worries could impede AI innovation. Trump recently called on Congress to add a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would strike down state regulations — a move House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has also considered — but Republicans ultimately held off on the measure. Out of options and out of patience, Trump may resort to his boldest maneuver yet and move forward with an executive order.
What Will Trump’s Executive Order Do?
Trump still hasn’t officially signed an executive order on this issue yet, but a leaked draft of his mid-November proposal makes clear what would happen if he were to take that leap. The overarching aim of the order would be to “sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome, uniform national policy framework for AI.” To accomplish this, Trump will take a two-pronged approach.
First, the order targets state regulations, which the president deems “cumbersome legislation” that’s holding back AI companies. The following steps would be taken to eliminate any state law related to AI:
- Establishing a task force to bring lawsuits against state AI laws in coordination with several advisors, including the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto.
- Requiring the Secretary of Commerce to evaluate all state laws and identify the ones that could impede American AI dominance.
- Limiting funding to states with laws that violate this act and listing the conditions to regain funding under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program.
- Requiring the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to decide whether a federal standard is necessary for reporting when state AI laws violate the act.
- Requiring the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to detail when state AI laws violate the FTC Act’s “prohibition on unfair and deceptive acts or practices.”
Second, the order calls for the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto and the Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs to draft a “legislative recommendation” that would create a “uniform Federal regulatory framework for AI.” Of course, Trump would review this act and decide whether to give it his final stamp of approval.
What’s Been the Response to a Possible Executive Order So Far?
Not surprisingly, Trump’s potential executive order has received harsh criticism from the other side of the aisle. Ed Markey (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) are just a few of the Democratic senators who have spoken out against the order, blasting the president for disregarding demands for AI guardrails while neglecting more meaningful AI initiatives, including funding for AI research.
What is surprising is the resistance Trump has faced from his own party. U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and former U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have decried attempts to block state AI regulations, citing states’ rights. Governor DeSantis has added his own critiques as well, arguing that only Congress has the power to pass a federal regulation that overrides state laws, and that an executive order would undermine states’ ability to uphold children’s online safety, intellectual property rights and data center security.
Perhaps even more alarming for Trump is the scathing takes delivered by Steve Bannon, his former chief political strategist and a key thinker in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. On his podcast, Bannon has openly criticized attempts to add a provision to the NDAA banning state AI regulations, even summarizing broader efforts to accelerate American AI development as “corporatism.”
This conservative pushback reveals that there are not just disagreements among Republicans, but also possible fissures forming within Trump’s MAGA coalition — a problem that couldn’t come at a worse time for Trump as midterm season nears.
How Could an AI Executive Order Affect the Midterms?
AI is set to be a hot-button issue in this next round of midterms, with concerns over the technology’s economic effects dominating the discussion. Hawley is one of the main Republicans who have painted AI as a major threat to job prospects, going so far as to introduce a bipartisan bill that would require companies and government agencies to share data on how AI has impacted their workforces.
Regardless, Trump has warmed up to tech leaders and established more formal ties between the federal government and tech companies, resulting in numerous policies that have favored Big Tech’s agenda. These relationships point to Trump maintaining his position on ending state AI regulations, mirroring demands for fewer regulations made by some of the biggest names in tech, including Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg.
Trump aligning himself with these technocrats rather than his working-class base has sown division among the MAGA ranks and damaged his relationships with former allies. If this keeps up, Trump could very well back himself into a corner where it’s him and the tech elite against everyone else — a new divide that the upcoming midterms could expose.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Trump proposing for AI regulation?
Trump is considering signing an executive order that would establish a single federal framework for regulating artificial intelligence, supposedly to accelerate AI innovation. The order would also override any state AI regulations, even punishing states that violate the act by limiting their access to federal funding.
Is AI regulated in the U.S?
Currently, there is no federal law that regulates AI in America. While Joe Biden passed an executive order back in 2023 to pave the path for federal AI legislation, Trump quickly revoked the act when he became president, without providing a replacement. As a result, U.S. states like New York, Colorado and California have been more aggressive about passing their own laws on AI, creating a patchwork of state regulations that companies must navigate.
How might the AI regulation debate affect the midterms?
Trump has fought hard to roll back state AI regulations as he’s aligned himself more closely with Big Tech. This approach has divided his MAGA supporters and even driven away close allies who are concerned about how unchecked AI could affect the economy. It may only be a matter of time before Trump’s working-class base turns on him as well, and the midterms would be an opportunity to express their disapproval by voting against Republicans.
