President Donald Trump said Dec. 8 he plans to sign an executive order that would federalize Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation, arguing the U.S. must adopt a unified framework to stay ahead in the global technology race.
“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS.”
He warned that allowing states to devise their own standards could cripple AI innovation because “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something.”
Politico reported last month that an early draft of the order included efforts to push back on state-level AI rules by establishing an “AI Litigation Task Force” and potential funding penalties for states that refused to align with federal rules. The idea sparked bipartisan debate over whether Washington should preempt state authority in the rapidly expanding sector, according to Politico.
Reactions to the plan have been mixed. Google CEO Sundar Pichai argued Dec. 7 on “Fox News Sunday” that more than 1,000 AI-related bills advancing in state legislatures risk creating regulatory confusion that could weaken America’s competitiveness with the global market, FOX Business reported.
But some questioned whether the administration has the authority to preempt state-level AI safeguards.
“An executive order doesn’t/can’t preempt state legislative action. Congress could, theoretically, preempt states through legislation,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, wrote on X Dec. 8.
He said only Congress can establish such a framework and added that he “doubt[s] Congress has the votes to pass this because it is so unpopular with the public.”
The forthcoming order follows Trump’s November launch of the “Genesis Mission,” a national AI initiative intended to accelerate scientific research and strengthen U.S. technological leadership. As CatholicVote reported, the “Genesis Mission” order directs the Department of Energy to gather data, high-performance computing resources, and top researchers for a unified AI system.
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