President Donald Trump announced on Monday his intention to sign an executive order that would attempt to strip individual states of the right to regulate the rapidly growing Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry. He argued that this sweeping move is essential to maintain the United States’ global competitive edge.
The Case for Centralized Control
Announcing the forthcoming order on his Truth Social platform, President Trump insisted on the necessity of regulatory unity to ensure US dominance in the global AI race.
“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI,” he posted.
Trump framed the existence of varied state-level rules as an existential threat to the emerging technology, stating:
“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! I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week.”
The President has made the control and development of AI tools—which are predicted to transform everything from the economy to military technology—a major priority of his administration.
Facing Political and Legal Opposition
The announcement comes despite Congress twice refusing to vote for legislation that would allow the federal government to override state-level laws on AI.
The White House’s push for centralized regulation faces deep skepticism within Congress:
- Democrats and a contingent of Republicans are wary of the technology’s potential for social and economic harms.
- The executive order is expected to immediately stir further political opposition and legal challenges regarding the extent of federal authority over state regulation in this domain.