White House puts red state AI laws under scrutiny
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios
GOP lawmakers in several red states want to pass AI safety bills, but their efforts are being chilled by the fear of angering the White House.
Why it matters: State lawmakers eager to tackle AI over concerns about kids, jobs and privacy are facing pushback from the White House, with tensions poised to spike next week.
- The Trump administration's pending list of "onerous" state AI laws could set up a federal crackdown on state regulation and reshape who writes the rules for AI.
Driving the news: The White House has made it clear — states should back off on AI laws in almost all cases until a federal framework passes.
- Next week, the administration is expected to announce which state-level AI laws it has identified as "onerous" that should be referred to the AI Litigation Task Force at the Justice Department, per President Trump's executive order.
What they're saying: This week, 50 Republican state lawmakers wrote to President Trump that they are "deeply concerned by the work of officials seeking to pressure lawmakers in Utah and other states to abandon legislation aimed at mitigating risks at leading AI labs and safeguarding constituents, including young people, from AI's worst harms."
- "We firmly believe state-led efforts are fully consistent with conservative principles and with your stated goals of promoting human flourishing while accelerating innovation."
In Utah, White House meddling completely knocked an AI bill off-course, Axios first reported, driving pro-AI safety advocates in the state to take out billboards targeting White House AI czar David Sacks.
- "The bill is unfortunately dead," Melissa McKay, policy director for Utah-based advocacy group Child First Policy Center, told Axios. "The mid-session attack memo from the White House created enough confusion and conflicting opinions to doom it."
In Florida, the Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed AI Bill of Rights passed the state Senate this week, but intervention in the House will keep it from hitting the floor.
- State House Speaker Daniel Perez told reporters this week that he won't bring up the bill and he shares the White House's view on state AI laws.
- A spokesperson for DeSantis declined to comment on the future of the bill.
In Ohio, a bill that would ban AI from any form of legal personhood is currently being overhauled, said its sponsor, state Rep. Thad Claggett, who signed onto the 50-lawmaker letter.
- "We know how incredibly difficult it is for Congress to deal with leading-edge stuff, and that's okay. But, we are very interested in protecting our people, and so we're going to continue to work," he told Axios.
- He said he will engage the White House at some point to see if they have any input on his bill, but he won't reach out until the bill is ready.
The other side: The White House did not directly respond to questions about the GOP state lawmaker letter, the AI litigation task force or the Ohio bill.
What we're watching: The executive order calls for the administration to identify laws, not bills that are in the works.
- So it's most likely that California and New York's AI frontier safety laws will be targeted first. Plus, Colorado's AI law was the only one specifically called out by name in Trump's order.
The bottom line: The tension between GOP state lawmakers who want to pass AI bills and a White House dead set on fending off as many state AI laws as possible is only heating up.
