Trump administration campaigns to preempt state AI regulation as states accelerate legislation

The Trump administration is waging a multi-front campaign to prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence, even as state legislatures accelerate their own AI legislation at an unprecedented pace. Through a Department of Justice litigation task force, Commerce Department evaluations of "burdensome" state laws, and a legislative framework urging Congress to preempt state-level regulation with a "minimally burdensome national standard," the administration is attempting to establish federal control over AI policy. This effort comes as states have introduced 1,208 AI bills in 2025 alone, with 145 enacted into law, reflecting bipartisan consensus that AI regulation cannot wait for Congressional action. The administration's campaign has three main components. An executive order signed in December 2025 created an AI Litigation Task Force within the DOJ to challenge state AI laws in federal court on grounds of unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce or federal preemption. It also directed the Commerce Department to identify "burdensome" state AI laws and conditioned federal broadband funding on states avoiding what the administration considers onerous AI regulations. In March, the Commerce Department published its evaluation, flagging laws in Colorado, California, and New York for particular scrutiny. The administration's National Policy Framework for AI, released in March, recommends Congress preempt state AI laws to ensure "a minimally burdensome national standard consistent with these recommendations, not fifty discordant ones." State lawmakers have pushed back forcefully. A bipartisan coalition of 36 state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress opposing AI preemption, arguing that risks including scams, deepfakes, and harmful interactions make state protections essential. Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, has asserted that states should retain the power to regulate AI, warning that if AI companies "start selling sexualized chatbots to kids in my state, now I have a problem with that." Congress has twice rejected AI preemption measures, including a 99-1 Senate vote to strip an AI moratorium from legislation. The administration's framework requires Congressional action to gain legal force, and until courts rule on specific challenges, regulated parties must continue to comply with state regulations. The lobbying battle has intensified, with tech industry groups reportedly spending more than $1 billion to prevent states from regulating AI. Leading the Future, a super PAC launched by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, raised $125 million in 2025 to support candidates favoring AI-friendly policies and uniform federal regulation.