Illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios
Following the passage of President Trump's sweeping reconciliation bill, Washington has plenty of tech policy to turn its attention to this summer.
Why it matters: A major fight over whether to hamstring states from passing their own AI laws is over for now, but upcoming deadlines and simmering policy fights haven't slowed down.
Here are the biggest items to watch for the rest of the month.
Appropriations: The FY26 process is kicking off, with senators on the Appropriations Committee marking up the Commerce, Justice, Science bill on Thursday.
- Text isn't out yet, but it's safe to bet that the Senate and House approaches to funding science and tech will be wildly at odds, with Republicans in the lower chamber following Trump's lead.
- Trump's proposed budget called for massively slashing funding for key science and tech agencies.
- Don't forget: Government funding runs out Sept. 30.
AI action plan: We expect the White House to issue its long-awaited AI action plan by the end of the month, with a July 22 deadline for certain administration officials to submit plans. Reuters reported that the White House is set to unveil the plan July 23.
- It's sure to swerve away from the Biden-era focus on government-assisted testing, consumer safety and ensuring that AI doesn't do more harm than good.
- We expect the plan will mirror what we've already seen from the Trump administration on AI: a full-throated embrace of the technology in an attempt to beat China in its development, along with large partnerships with leading companies.
Digital Service Taxes: The Trump administration got Canada to back down on digital services taxes that were set to go into place July 1 by threatening to halt all trade negotiations.
- Tech industry sources tell Axios they expect that type of tactic will continue as the administration works on trade. DSTs could be scrapped or delayed by the countries that proposed them if they hope to cut deals with the U.S.
- "If we created a French handbag tax or Italian wine tax or German car tax, those countries would rightly cry foul," said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of Chamber of Progress. "The Trump administration is absolutely right to call this out as unfair discrimination against America's top export, and I hope they continue."
- What to watch: A helpful list of countries that have, or have proposed, DSTs is here.
Tariffs: We expect tariff negotiations to be tied up in DST talks, but in general, tech will be pressing for relief on any tariffs that make it harder to make or import key components of their products.
Post-AI moratorium fight: Sen. Marsha Blackburn won the fight over whether a ban on states regulating AI would make it into the reconciliation bill, but we expect more battles ahead on both AI legislation and kids' online safety.
- Last week, we reported that there's likely to be a rethink of House and Senate committee priorities on tech policy after the AI pause showdown.
- Sen. Ted Cruz's communications director, Macarena Martinez, told Axios that as chair of the Commerce Committee he "remains committed to protecting children online and fighting for common sense, bipartisan legislation," specifically naming the Kids Off Social Media Act, COPPA 2.0 and the Kids Online Safety Act, which Blackburn sponsored.
- "Although the Senate approved KOSA last year, the bill remains stalled due to a number of significant policy concerns raised by lawmakers. Chairman Cruz hopes there can be meaningful conversations with House colleagues to address those outstanding issues."
