US President Donald Trump is considering an executive order that would seek to overturn state laws on artificial intelligence through lawsuits and withholding federal funds, according to a draft of the order seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The move, which will likely face resistance from states, demonstrates the lengths to which Trump is willing to go to help AI companies overcome a patchwork of laws they say are holding back innovation.
A White House official told Reuters that until officially announced, discussion of possible executive orders was speculation.
The order would task Attorney General Pam Bondi with establishing an “AI Litigation Task Force whose sole responsibility will be to challenge state AI laws, including on the grounds that such laws unconstitutionally regulate interstate commerce, are preempted by existing federal regulations, or are otherwise unlawful,” according to the document.
It would also direct the Commerce Department to review state laws and issue guidance that would withhold broadband funding in some cases.
The Senate voted 99-1 against an effort to block AI laws earlier this year. An initial version of that measure would have blocked states from regulating AI from the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, known as BEAD.
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State lawmakers and attorneys general from both political parties rallied against the measure at the time, calling it harmful to their ability to protect state residents from fraud, deepfakes and child abuse images.
The issue gained new life after Trump on Tuesday endorsed a proposal by Republicans in Congress to add a similar provision to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Some members of Congress, including Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., opposed adding the measure to the NDAA this week.
Trump’s draft executive order would task White House legislative director James Braid and AI czar David Sacks with recommending federal legislation to preempt state AI laws and federal agencies to find ways to block them.
The draft executive order criticizes California’s recently enacted AI disclosure law, calling it “complex and burdensome.”
He notes that a Colorado law aimed at preventing algorithmic discrimination “could even force AI models to incorporate DEI into their programming,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion.
With information from Reuters.
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