MAGA scrambles to influence Trump's AI executive order
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MAGA populists are making a last-minute bid to shape President Trump's promised executive order targeting state AI laws, pitching two draft proposals to the White House this week.
Why it matters: Republicans are split on regulating AI, but with President Trump pursuing aggressive action to boost the industry some conservatives are desperately trying to intervene.
- Some MAGA conservatives and Republican governors view the White House's draft executive order as too broad and a giveaway to AI companies at the expense of states' rights.
- They're also warning that the president's political future is at risk if he doesn't get AI regulation right.
Behind the scenes: Three sources familiar with the matter described the effort as a "family intervention" where conservatives are trying to tamp down the language in the White House's previously leaked draft executive order.
- The White House reached out to several Republican governors and asked for feedback for an AI executive order that the president could sign, sources said. They did not disclose which specific governors were consulted.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox have previously spoken out against the preemption efforts, saying that states need to have a say in protecting kids and jobs.
- "Governor Sanders supports President Trump's leadership to unleash American AI dominance and looks forward to working with his administration and other stakeholders to make sure we win the race against China and also protect Americans," spokesperson Sam Dubke told Axios in a statement.
- DeSantis' office did not respond to a request for comment.
State of play: Trump said on Monday that he would sign an AI executive order before the end of this week.
- "If Republicans throw us under the bus and basically hand our future over to the Jensen Huangs and the Elon Musks and the Sam Altmans of the world, they're gonna get wrecked," Joe Allen, Steve Bannon's AI expert on his "War Room" podcast, said on Wednesday.
- Earlier in the day, Allen praised two alternative executive orders that he said were circulating in the administration.
- The White House told Axios that any discussion of executive orders was speculation.
What's inside: The alternate proposals were written with some input from AI and family issues groups on the right, sources told Axios.
- One alternative executive order draft would make "human flourishing" — "defined as the enhancement of American national security, middle class economic prosperity, family health, and human well-being" — the "primary objective of national AI policy."
- It would create a Federal-State AI Working Group, to be co-chaired by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Governors Association and other state and local groups.
- Another executive order proposal would seek to eliminate "woke state AI laws" by opposing state laws that allegedly discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or other protected characteristics.
What they're saying: The Heritage Foundation's Wes Hodges called the "human flourishing" proposal "a legitimate effort" that appropriately involves an interagency process and described the "woke" proposal as appropriately targeted.
- "The idea that you need to strike all state AI laws just because there are a few bad apples is extreme," Hodges said.
The bottom line: Preemption without a federal standard is a political loser.
- An executive order targeting state AI laws is likely to immediately get caught up in litigation, and would serve only as a starting point when the issue inevitably is punted back to Congress.
