President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that limits what states can do normal AI individually.
In the 2025 legislative session, more than 1,000 AI-related bills were proposed in all 50 states. The executive order signed by Trump aims to create a federal framework for regulating AI rather than requiring tech companies to comply with various state laws.
“This is a huge industry. We are the leader in China. We are way ahead of everyone,” Trump said during the signing of the agreement. “But one of the things is you have to have a central source of approval. When they need approval for something, they must come to one source. They can't go to California, New York and other places.”
On Monday, ahead of the signing, Trump said the executive order was aimed at ensuring there is only one “One Rule Book” for AI in the US, saying the technology would be “destroyed in its infancy” if companies had to comply with different rules in all 50 states.
“We are winning ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won't last long if we are going to have 50 states, many of which are bad actors, participating in the RULES and APPROVAL PROCESS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “You can't expect a company to get 50 approvals every time they want to do something. THIS NEVER WORKS!”
Although the full text of the order had not yet been published at the time of publication, draft decree Seen by Business Insider last month, it would have directed the Justice Department to sue states for having “burdensome” artificial intelligence laws.
One thing is It's clear: Trump will likely provoke a backlash from members of his own party if he achieves this, as many Republicans seek to protect states' rights when it comes to AI.
Fault lines on the issue became apparent over the summer when Republicans tried to pass legislation 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulations through the Big Beautiful Bill.
This situation was ultimately diluted over time before becoming excluded from account on a 99-1 vote in the Senate in the final hours before passage.
Trump recently called on Republicans to include a version of this provision in a must-pass annual defense bill, but that did not happen. On Sunday, lawmakers released text of a bill that did not include that provision.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration was looking for other ways to stop states from passing AI laws. An “AI Action Plan” released by the White House in July calls for an end to federal funding for states with “burdensome” artificial intelligence laws.
