The Federal Government Is Becoming an Agent of AI Chaos
December 4, 2025
At the behest of a handful of Silicon Valley executives, officials within the Trump administration and their allies in Congress are trying yet again to prohibit states from regulating AI companies. Even as House members heard about the horrific impact of AI chatbots on children, its GOP leadership tried to insert federal pre-emption of state AI laws into the unrelated National Defense Authorization Act. Congress must pass this bill, which is meant to authorize the work of the Pentagon, by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the White House is floating a draft executive order designed to undermine states’ ability to legislate on AI.
Even if the effort to include pre-emption in the NDAA ultimately fails, Republican leadership has been clear that they will try to find other ways to block state AI legislation.
