President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass a federal standard governing oversight of artificial int
elligence and warned that varied regulation at the state level risked
slowing the development of an emerging technology that’s critical to the US economy.
In a post on his Truth Social network Tuesday, the president urged lawmakers to act quickly, and floated the idea of inc
luding an AI measure as part of upcoming defense policy legislation.
“Investment in AI is helping to make the U.S. Economy the “HOTTEST” in the World — But overregulation
by the States is threatening to undermine this Growth Engine,’ Trump sa
id in a social media post, advocating for “one Federal Standard in
stead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes.”
Trump said the moratorium could also be passed as a separate bill.
“If we don’t, then China will easily catch us in the AI race,” Trump said.
Members of the White House administration have been making a push for federal preemption in the past several we
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eks directly with members of Congress, according to people familiar with t
he matter. Leading AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic have be
en supportive of a federal framework for AI regulation over state legislation in the past.
Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang has made a similar argument publicly, saying that China’s streamlined regulation gives Beijing an advantage over the US in
the global AI race. On Tuesday, Trump insisted during an appearance
with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the US was still “leading by a lot” in the competition.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, told Punchbowl News earlier this week that Repub
lican leaders were “looking at” adding the language into the National
Defense Authorization Act. The legislation, which sets the Pentagon’s budget and expenditures, often becomes a vehicle for other policy measures.
The Senate blocked an attempt to include the measure in a July
budget bill, with opponents saying it could thwart attempts to implement child safety and
copyright controls on the emerging technology. California Governor G
avin Newsom, a Democrat, signed a bill earlier this year requiring large AI developers to disclose security protocols.
Several proposals are currently being discussed, according to people familiar with the matter, some of which would
offer AI companies exemption from state regulation on AI if they agree to federal standards in other areas such as child safety.