Scoop: White House pressures Utah lawmaker to kill AI transparency bill
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The White House is pressuring a Utah Republican state legislator to abandon AI transparency and kids' safety legislation, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
Why it matters: It's a sign that the Trump administration is now starting to intervene with the states in its efforts to squash AI regulation.
In a Feb. 12 letter obtained by Axios, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs states its opposition to HB 286, the Artificial Intelligence Transparency Act.
- "We are categorically opposed to Utah HB 286 and view it as an unfixable bill that goes against the Administration's AI Agenda," the letter to Republican Utah Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore Jr. states.
- Republican state Rep. Doug Fiefia's bill would require frontier AI companies to publish safety and child-protection plans and include whistleblower protections for employees who report safety concerns.
- The White House and Cullimore's office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Behind the scenes: White House officials have held several conversations with Fiefia over the past two weeks urging him not to move the bill forward, a source citing conversations with the White House said.
- The administration has not offered specific changes that could make the bill acceptable, per the source.
- "[The White House official] said there's nothing Fiefia can do to make him [the White House official] happy," the source said.
What they're saying: "I appreciate the White House's engagement on this issue and look forward to continuing the dialogue. While we did not fully align on the path forward, I believe transparency, accountability, and clear guardrails must be foundational to any responsible AI policy," Fiefia said in a statement.
- "I'm hopeful we can find common ground that allows AI to flourish while ensuring strong protections for children," he added.
Context: President Trump late last year signed an executive order to override state AI laws, directing the Justice Department to create an AI litigation task force to identify legislation deemed incompatible with the administration's approach and then launch legal challenges.
- This letter does not outline a legal rationale for opposing the bill, making it an unusual intervention into state matters.
Between the lines: The executive order named only one state, Colorado, fueling expectations that legal challenges would target blue states.
- Utah's bill suggests the administration will intervene more broadly.
- Fiefia's bill echoes California's AI transparency law, which White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has criticized as contributing to a patchwork of state regulations.
- Both measures require safety disclosures from frontier AI companies, potentially setting a similar de facto national standard as Congress gears up for another preemption fight.
The big picture: Utah could be the tip of the iceberg.
- Republican-led states across the country are pursuing AI transparency measures many lawmakers see as centrist, common-sense guardrails.
- That could set up state-by-state clashes for the White House, testing how aggressively Sacks and the administration are willing to push back — even within their own party.
