The United States' National AI Policy
Trump's new Executive Order on AI outlines a strategic legal maneuver that will empower federal authorities and block state efforts that are not aligned with the federal wishes | Edition #258
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The United States’ National AI Policy
Yesterday, President Trump signed a new Executive Order on AI, focused on implementing America's AI Action Plan and removing what the federal government sees as ‘barriers to American leadership in AI.’
This is the White House's second major attempt to block U.S. states from enacting AI laws that go against the federal strategy, following the Senate's rejection of a 10-year moratorium in July.
What many have not noticed is that this Executive Order outlines an extremely strategic legal maneuver that will consolidate the federal plan, empower federal authorities, and, with a few exceptions, block any state effort that is not aligned with or endorsed at the federal level.
Advocates, policymakers, lawyers, and the general public alike should pay attention and plan accordingly.
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Before I break down the legal strategy of this Executive Order, we must remember that, in December 2025, any United States federal strategy on AI must be understood in light of the following two pieces of context:
1. The competitive pressure from China grows daily, and wrong macroeconomic or legal policies today might lead to the loss of AI supremacy to Beijing in a short period of time. Given how AI development works, the “winner takes all” effect might apply, and if the United States loses the AI lead to China, it might never recover. This is not a risk Trump will want to take.
2. The threat of an AI bubble still looms, along with the risk that it could burst and trigger a catastrophic economic crisis. Many have said the numbers do not add up, while others point out that 92% of U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 came from AI spending, signaling a bubble. Investors are anxious, and the federal government is absolutely not interested in another dotcom bubble burst.
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Back to the Executive Order.
Its goal is to ban excessive state regulation on AI. In fact, this has been Trump's goal since day one of his presidency, as it will give him greater control over U.S. strategy and execution to achieve AI supremacy.
The first attempt to ban state laws on AI failed with the rejected 10-year moratorium, so he needed a new strategy.
His legal team worked hard on the matter, and the legal strategy is actually very smart. Why?
The Executive Order frames the state law ban as a legal necessity. If America does not ban state laws on AI, it might end up fostering an intolerable, likely illegal situation.
According to the Trump Administration, these are the three reasons why banning state laws on AI is actually necessary and often legally required: