President Trump Signs Executive Order To Limit State AI Regulation

President Trump's Dec. 11, Executive Order, "Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence" (the "order"), targets what the administration views as burdensome and fragmented state AI regulation in favor of a single national framework. Although the order does not overturn any existing or proposed state AI law, it directs federal agencies to challenge certain state AI laws, condition federal funding on compliance with the order, and propose federal preemption legislation.

What the Executive Order Does

The order states that U.S. policy is to "sustain and enhance" American AI dominance through a national framework that reduces regulatory burden and avoids a patchwork of 50 different state regimes. The order explicitly targets state laws like the Colorado AI Act's algorithmic discrimination provisions, which the administration views as requiring ideological bias in models or forcing changes to otherwise "truthful outputs."