Trump Seeks to Halt State AI Rules Vilified by Tech Industry

White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 23.Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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By Emily Birnbaum, Oma Seddiq (BGOV) and Shirin Ghaffary

November 20, 2025 at 3:12 PM UTC

Updated on

November 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM UTC

The Trump administration and tech lobbyists are aggressively pushing lawmakers to use must-pass defense legislation to block emerging state-level regulatory efforts that would hold companies accountable for harms caused by artificial intelligence products.

White House AI czar David Sacks and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise are leading the drive to include a provision in the annual defense bill that would preempt some state laws on AI, seeking to stave off nascent regulation efforts in New York and California, said people familiar with the discussions.