The White House’s AI Strongarming Frustrates Fellow Republicans
March 20, 2026
More than 50 Republican lawmakers across 22 states signed a letter earlier this month addressed to President Donald Trump saying they were “deeply concerned” about recent White House efforts to shut down state AI regulation in states.
In December, Trump signed an executive order calling for the future establishment of a single national standard for AI policy to avoid a patchwork of state regulations and centralize AI governance by challenging “onerous” state laws using legal and financial means (though the order’s legal teeth remain weak). But with no national AI regulations in place, Republican lawmakers across the country are getting antsy. “There’s a real groundswell of support within the Republican Party over protecting the ability to safeguard people from AI harm,” said Chris MacKenzie, vice president of communications at Americans for Responsible Innovation, a technology policy advocacy group that helped coordinate the letter.
