Key Points
- The White House has put on hold a draft executive order aimed at challenging state-level AI laws.
- The order would have used federal lawsuits and the threat of withholding funds to override state regulations.
- An “AI Litigation Task Force” was to be created under the Attorney General to lead these legal challenges.
- The move shows the Trump administration’s willingness to support AI companies that feel burdened by a patchwork of state laws.
The White House has paused a draft executive order that would have aimed to override state laws on artificial intelligence by using lawsuits and withholding federal funds, sources said on Friday.
The draft order would have likely faced strong opposition from states, but the fact that it was even considered shows how far President Trump is willing to go to help AI companies. These companies have argued that the current mix of different state laws is hindering innovation.
The White House did not provide an immediate comment on the matter.
According to an earlier document, the draft order would have directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to create an “AI Litigation Task Force.” This task force’s “sole responsibility” would have been to challenge state AI laws.
The challenges could have been based on several grounds, including arguments that the state laws unconstitutionally regulate interstate commerce, are preempted by existing federal rules, or are otherwise illegal.
The move to put this draft order on hold suggests a possible reconsideration of the administration’s AI regulatory strategy. It may be that the White House is now exploring other, less confrontational ways to create a more unified national approach to AI regulation, or it could simply be a temporary pause.
This development comes as the debate over how to regulate the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence heats up nationwide. While the federal government is trying to foster innovation, states are also moving to create their own rules to address concerns about privacy, bias, and other potential harms of AI.
The now-shelved draft order was a clear signal of the administration’s desire to have the final say in how this powerful technology is governed.
