The Trump administration has set its sights on state-level AI laws, with the president stating on social media this week that the sector should have “a single Federal Standard rather than a confusing mix of 50 different State Regulatory Regimes.”
This follows an earlier attempt to impose a decade-long prohibition on state AI regulations, which was part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” but was later stripped out by the Senate in a 99-1 vote.
The concept then appeared to evolve, as reports emerged that the administration was preparing an executive order to create an AI Litigation Task Force, tasked with legally challenging state-level AI regulations. States with disputed AI laws would also be warned that they could lose access to federal broadband funding.
According to Reuters, the executive order is now on pause. Should it be enacted, it would likely encounter strong resistance, including from Republican lawmakers who had previously voiced concerns about the proposed freeze on state oversight.
Debate over AI regulation has also sparked controversy in Silicon Valley, where some in the Trump administration have criticized companies such as Anthropic for backing AI safety legislation like California’s SB 53.



