Updated on: December 11, 2025 / 9:11 PM EST
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday intended to limit states’ ability to set their own rules for artificial intelligence, arguing that a fragmented regulatory landscape would undermine U.S. competitiveness with China.
The order directs the attorney general to form a task force to challenge state AI laws and requires the Commerce Department to produce a list of state regulations it views as problematic. It also warns that states adopting certain AI restrictions could face limits on federal funding, including from a broadband deployment program and other grant sources.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said countries are racing to dominate AI and that the United States needs a single, streamlined approval path similar to the centralized oversight Chinese companies face. He warned that having to obtain separate approvals from multiple states would make large investments unworkable and said, “there’s only going to be one winner.”
David Sacks, a venture capitalist advising the administration on crypto and AI policy, said the effort will target only the most burdensome state rules and will not oppose measures aimed at protecting children.
Four states — Colorado, California, Utah and Texas — have enacted laws that impose private-sector AI rules, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Those measures include limits on certain types of data collection and requirements for greater transparency. Other states have pursued narrower actions, such as banning deepfakes in elections and nonconsensual pornography or restricting government use of AI.
Proponents of federal preemption, including some Republican lawmakers and tech industry advocates, say a patchwork of state laws could force companies to build different models for different jurisdictions, slowing innovation and disadvantaging smaller startups. Sacks warned on X that without a national approach the U.S. could end up with “50 different AI models for 50 different states.”
Critics across the political spectrum pushed back. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized similar preemption proposals in the past as a subsidy to big tech, calling federal limits on state policymaking overreach. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey labeled the executive order an early present for wealthy CEOs.
The clash underscores a core dilemma in U.S. AI policy: whether to prioritize a unified national framework to enhance global competitiveness, or to preserve state-level authority so lawmakers, civil liberties groups and consumer advocates can pursue stronger, localized protections against bias, privacy intrusions and other harms as AI increasingly shapes hiring, housing, lending and health care.