White House Pressures Republican States to Kill or Neuter AI Bills

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration has lobbied against legislation that would

regulate artificial intelligence in at least six Republican-led states, deepening a division within the party over the White House’s industry-friendly AI agenda.

A White House office focused on coordinating with states has contacted lawmakers and

governor offices in Florida and Utah in recent weeks to tell them that AI bills being

proposed go against President Trump’s agenda, according to lawmakers and lobbyists.

The campaign has also targeted measures in Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee and

Louisiana, which have attempted to pass bills imposing transparency requirements or

safety guardrails for AI model developers.

The administration has argued to state leaders that a disparate batch of state rules

would hurt the U.S. in the AI race, a White House official said. The official described the

conversations as routine discussions that didn’t amount to pressure.

The campaign has frustrated many state officials and some prominent Republicans,

including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and

Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee have argued states should be allowed to pursue their

own rules until a federal law passes.

The administration’s efforts stem from a December executive order aimed at preventing

a patchwork of state AI laws that would hinder the technology’s development. The order

said that states pursuing unfavorable AI bills could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in

federal broadband funding or face other retribution.

That threat has forced Republican lawmakers including Nebraska state Sen. Tanya

Storer to abandon bills despite support among their constituents for legislation that

regulates AI.

Nebraska state Sen. Tanya Storer. Nebraska Legislature

“While I understand the desire for a national framework, I am disappointed that states

are being told to wait to address this critical issue given how quickly and profoundly this

technology is impacting our families’ safety and livelihoods,” Storer said. Her bill would

have required safety plans and disclosures by AI companies and mandated that

instances of harm caused by AI be reported to the state attorney general.

Staffers in the office of Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, told lobbyists that they

had to give priority to the broadband funding over any AI bills after discussions with the

White House, people familiar with the discussions said. A spokeswoman for Pillen didn’t

respond to requests for comment.

The AI campaign raises the stakes of the administration’s push to get a bill through

Congress that would pre-empt state rules and create national standards. The

administration recently published a framework intended to guide AI legislation through

Congress that includes industry-friendly provisions to accelerate model development

and concessions about rules protecting children online and AI companies paying more

for electricity. But any bill would face an uphill battle with Democrats and some

Republicans who want to see more aggressive action.

“We can’t sit around and wait forever,” said Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry,

who said he agreed to the White House’s request to give Congress time to pass an AI

bill. He added it will be difficult to ask states to hold off if nothing passes this year.

Republican senators including Hawley and Blackburn have blocked previous efforts to

override state efforts with a federal ban. Administration officials previously said their

framework is gaining traction and that they are having constructive conversations with

lawmakers.

Many lawmakers are worried that another attempt at a federal bill will also fail, leaving

the industry largely unregulated while the technology threatens cyberattacks and job

losses.

Missouri state Sen. Joe Nicola said he aligns with the White House on almost every

issue other than AI. His legislation requiring people or organizations to always be held

liable for harm caused by AI was recently blocked by a pair of state senators, who said

they were worried about potentially losing nearly $1 billion in federal broadband funding.

“I’m offended that the president would threaten us by withholding funds for protecting

our people and doing our job,” Nicola said. He said he is talking to the White House

about changing the bill.

Nicola has been talking to Alex Meyer, director of the White House Office of

Intergovernmental Affairs, which oversees the administration’s relationship with states.

White House advisers including venture capitalist David Sacks have led the push to

curtail state laws.

The White House in a mid-February memo said it was “categorically opposed” to a Utah

bill mandating companies release plans for AI safety and keeping children safe, calling it

“an unfixable bill that goes against the administration’s AI Agenda.”

The sponsor of the legislation, Utah state Rep. Doug Fiefia, said “unelected

bureaucrats” in the White House were weighing in on policy given a campaign by

companies to minimize regulation. AI companies are pouring hundreds of millions of

dollars into political-action committees and other groups to fight what they deem

burdensome rules.

“If you talk to people, they agree this is something that needs to be regulated and reined

in,” Fiefia said.