WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced that he will use his executive authority to establish a singular set of rules for artificial‑intelligence regulation across the United States, after repeated congressional attempts to impose a moratorium on state‑level AI oversight have fallen through.
He warned that allowing each of the 50 states to write its own AI policies would erode America’s competitive edge in the global race to master the technology. “There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday. “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. THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS! AI WILL BE DESTROYED IN ITS INFANCY!”
Legislative efforts to create a pause on state AI regulation have repeatedly been shelved. The most recent plan to insert an AI moratorium into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was abandoned in late Sunday, and a prior attempt to embed a ten‑year federal halt in the Working Families Tax Cut Act also failed. Republicans who have been vocal opponents of the moratorium—including retiring congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene—have defended the principle of federalism.
Throughout his second term, Trump has pursued policies designed to keep the United States ahead in the AI arena and has cultivated relationships with major tech companies. White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has taken the lead on coordinating that effort. Last month, Politico released leaked documents outlining a proposed executive order that would launch an “AI Litigation Task Force” to file lawsuits against states whose AI rules the administration deems unnecessary or unlawful. The lawsuits would argue that such laws unconstitutionally regulate interstate commerce, conflict with existing federal regulations, or are otherwise prohibited. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!” Trump added on Truth Social.
The NDAA remains one of the few legislative avenues the administration can use to enact an AI moratorium. This year’s defense budget topped out at $892.6 billion, $8 billion above the figure President Trump had requested. The bill also repeals two authorizations for the use of military force, including the 1991 Gulf War and the 2002 Iraq invasion authorizations. Other key items in the NDAA reflect Trump’s priorities, such as codifying 15 of his executive orders and tightening the Department of Defense’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
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