The Trump administration may not be fighting government AI regulations after all

The Trump administration has been targeting regulation of AI nationwide, with the president declaring in a social media post this week that the industry needs “one federal standard rather than a patchwork of 50 state-level regulatory regimes.”

It comes after a 10-year ban on state AI regulation was initially included in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” before it was ultimately removed by the Senate by a 99-1 vote.

The idea then apparently took a new form, as the administration reportedly drafted an executive order that would create an AI Litigation Task Force tasked with challenging state AI laws through lawsuits. States with contested AI laws will reportedly be at risk of losing federal broadband funding.

Now, Reuters reports that the executive order has been suspended. If signed, the order would likely face significant opposition, including from Republicans who have previously criticized the proposed moratorium on ISIS.

Regulation of AI has also been a controversial topic in Silicon Valley, with some industry figures — particularly those in the Trump administration — attacking companies like Anthropic for supporting AI safety bills including SB 53 in California.