President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to write an executive order this week that would restrict states from enacting their own regulations for AI technology.
President Trump posted on social media, “This week, I am issuing a one-rule executive order.” “You can’t expect companies to get 50 approvals every time they do something.”
“If we are to continue to lead in AI, there must be only one rulebook,” President Trump said. “We’re beating every country at this point in the race, but if 50 states (many of them bad actors) end up getting involved in the rules and approval process, that won’t last long…the AI will be destroyed in its early stages!”
President Trump’s statement came days after an effort to block states from regulating AI failed in the Senate after Congress could not agree to include the highly unpopular proposal in the must-pass defense spending bill.
The rapid pace of AI development and lack of general consumer protections from the federal government has led many states to enact their own rules regarding this technology. For example, California has an AI safety and transparency bill, SB 53, and Tennessee’s ELVIS law protects musicians and performers from deepfakes of voices and likenesses generated by unauthorized AI.
Silicon Valley luminaries, including OpenAI President Greg Brockman and venture capitalist turned White House “AI czar” David Sachs, argue that such state laws would create a patchwork of unworkable laws that would stifle innovation and threaten the U.S. lead over China in the race to develop AI technology.
Silicon Valley has a powerful lobbying arm that has blocked meaningful technology regulation for years, but proponents of state regulatory rights argue there is no reason to believe state AI laws could “destroy advances in AI,” as venture capital and technology companies claim.
tech crunch event
san francisco
|
October 13-15, 2026
Trump’s executive order, a draft of which was leaked several weeks ago, creates an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws in court, directs government agencies to evaluate state laws deemed “onerous,” and requires the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission to establish national standards to override state rules.
The order also gives Sacks direct influence over AI policy and replaces his normal role in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, currently headed by Michael Kratsios.
“Christmas comes early for the AI billionaires who continue to get exactly what they want from the White House: huge stipends that make it far easier for them to make huge profits for themselves, with no regard for the risks to their children, safety, or jobs,” New York Congressman Alex Boaz, who sponsored New York’s RAISE Act, said in a statement.
Efforts to block the state’s ability to regulate AI are highly unpopular on both sides of Congress. Earlier this year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a 10-year moratorium on AI legislation in the federal budget, but it was defeated by a 99-1 vote in an unusual period of bipartisan agreement that tech companies should not operate without oversight.
And last month, several Republican politicians spoke out when Trump’s draft document was leaked.
“States must retain the right to regulate and legislate AI and anything else in their own interests. Federalism must be preserved,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote on X.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) posted late last week that he “opposes stripping Florida of its ability to legislate in the people’s best interests. A 10-year AI moratorium would prohibit states from regulating AI and prevent Florida from enacting important protections for individuals, children, and families.”
DeSantis also said data centers are a waste of power and water resources and can kill jobs.
“The rise of AI is the most important economic and cultural shift happening right now. Denying people the ability to distribute these technologies in productive ways through self-governance is federal overreach and allows tech companies to run amok,” he said in a Nov. 11 post.
Late last week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) warned President Trump against EO, advising him to “leave AI to the states” to preserve federalism and allow local protections.
The desire to protect people from the potential harms of AI technology is not unfounded. There have been several suicides due to long conversations with AI chatbots, and psychologists have recorded an increase in cases of what they call “AI psychosis.”
A bipartisan coalition of more than 35 state attorneys general warned Congress last month that striking down state AI laws could have “dire consequences,” and more than 200 state lawmakers released an open letter opposing federal preemptive action, citing reversals in AI safety progress.
This article has been updated with comments from Alex Bores (D-NY).
