President Donald Trump signed an executive order on 11th December 2025 that seeks to limit the ability of states to regulate artificial intelligence whilst attempting to thwart some existing state laws. The order aims to sustain and enhance the United States' global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI. Four states—Colorado, California, Utah and Texas—have passed laws that set some rules for AI across the private sector, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to create an AI Litigation Task Force within 30 days whose sole responsibility shall be to challenge state AI laws that clash with the Trump administration's vision for light-touch regulation. Within 90 days of its signing, the secretary of commerce must specify the conditions under which states may be eligible to receive remaining funding under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment programme, a $42.5 billion effort to expand high-speed access in rural areas. The White House suffered a significant loss when Congress rejected including preemption language in the annual defence policy bill, marking the second major defeat this year in the administration's bid to reshape the AI policy landscape through Congress after senators stripped a similar provision from the budget bill in a 99-1 vote. The move marks a win for tech companies like OpenAI and Google and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz that have lobbied to limit regulations they view as overly burdensome.
Sources
1. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-signs-executive-order-seeking-ban-state-laws-ai-rcna248741
- https://www.citizen.org/news/senate-votes-99-1-to-remove-ai-moratorium-from-budget-in-major-blow-to-big-tech-and-sen-cruz/
3. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/11/trump-signs-executive-order-for-single-national-ai-regulation-framework.html
- https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/12/12/donald-trump-signs-executive-order-to-block-us-states-enforcing-their-own-ai-regulations
