U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a sweeping executive order aimed at pre-empting and neutralising state-level artificial intelligence (AI) regulations, framing the move as essential for American technological leadership amid intensifying competition with China.
Speaking in the White House Oval Office, Trump asserted that the United States must maintain dominance in the AI sector.
“There’s only going to be one winner here, and it’s probably going to be the U.S. or China and right now, we’re winning by a lot,” he told reporters, underscoring the geopolitical stakes of AI development.
The order directs federal agencies — including the Department of Justice and the Commerce Department — to challenge state laws deemed “burdensome” and potentially harmful to national innovation. It also empowers a newly designated federal task force to take legal action against states whose AI regulations conflict with Washington’s policy priorities.
In practice, the order threatens to withhold federal funding, such as Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grants, from states that forge their own AI governance frameworks. Trump and his advisers argue that 50 divergent regulatory regimes would deter investment and complicate compliance for technology firms.
David Sacks, the White House’s special adviser on AI and cryptocurrency policy, defended the initiative as a necessary step toward a unified national approach. “You’ve got 50 states running in 50 different directions. It just doesn’t make sense,” he said at the signing.
Yet critics from both sides of the political aisle contend the order undermines local efforts to safeguard consumers, protect privacy, and address ethical concerns in rapidly evolving AI systems. Democratic Representative Don Beyer, co-chair of a bipartisan AI caucus in Congress, warned that safety reforms could be “squelched” by the administration’s push for deregulation.
While the directive does allow states to maintain certain protections — such as those related to child safety — the overriding priority is clear: cementing federal control over AI policy to ensure American competitiveness on the global stage.
