White House urges Congress to take a light touch on AI regulations

Law Reviews

The White House said Friday that Congress should "preempt state AI laws" that it views as too burdensome, laying out a broad framework for how it wants Congress to address concerns about artificial intelligence without curbing growth or innovation in the sector.

The legislative blueprint outlines a half-dozen guiding principles for lawmakers, focusing on protecting children, preventing electricity costs from surging, respecting intellectual property rights, preventing censorship and educating Americans on using the technology.

House Republican leaders swiftly endorsed the framework and said they're ready to work "across the aisle" to pass legislation, but doing so would be a heavy lift, requiring agreement with Democrats in the Senate as public divisions over AI run deep.

The announcement comes as state governments have forged ahead on their own regulations for AI while civil liberties and consumer rights groups lobby for more regulations on the powerful technology. The industry and the White House have pushed back, arguing that a patchwork of rules would hurt growth. Trump signed an executive order in December to block states from crafting their own regulations.

"This was in response to a growing patchwork of 50 different state regulatory regimes that threaten to stifle innovation and jeopardize America's lead in the AI race," said White House AI czar David Sacks in a social media post Friday.

Sacks said the next step is to work with Congress to turn the administration's principles into federal legislation. While passing sweeping AI legislation will be difficult, especially in a midterm election year, the framework appeared designed to appeal to some AI-wary Republicans and Democrats with a focus on widespread and bipartisan concerns, such as the harms that AI chatbot companionship can pose to children and the electricity costs of AI infrastructure.

"It covers basically all the key sticking points I think that might stop an AI bill from moving through Congress," said Neil Chilson, a Republican former chief technologist for the Federal Trade Commission who now leads AI policy at the Abundance Institute. "It reads to me as an attempt to build a larger tent, even if it doesn't give everybody everything that they want."

But it has already been panned by some Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, who said in a statement it "fails to address key issues, including strong accountability for AI companies, under the guise of protecting children, communities, and creators. Americans need protection — but this means nothing if we allow the AI industry to be the Wild West."

Whether AI legislation can pass both chambers of Congress could also rely heavily on the support of Republicans like U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who has introduced her own AI bill, and last year was instrumental in thwarting Trump's earlier attempt to deter state governments from regulating AI. Blackburn on Friday called Trump's framework a roadmap and welcomed the administration to the "important discussion" of getting a bill passed.

Several states — including California, Colorado, Texas and Utah — have already passed laws that set some rules for AI across the private sector.

With bipartisan support in the Texas legislature, a new AI law that took effect this year in the Republican-led state requires government agencies and health care providers to disclose when they are using AI to interact with consumers or answer questions. The law also prohibits the development of AI that encourages a person to commit suicide, harm themselves, harm another person or engage in criminal activity.

A federal law following Trump's framework "could knock out parts of Texas's AI code while leaving some parts standing," said Saurabh Vishnubhakat, a professor at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law who has studied AI law.

Related listings

  • College president pleads guilty before Arkansas fraud trial

    College president pleads guilty before Arkansas fraud trial

    Law Reviews 03/09/2026

    The president of a Christian college in Springdale pleaded guilty to a fraud charge Wednesday, admitting he took part in what prosecutors called a kickback scheme involving his school.Oren Paris III had faced a trial Monday with former state Sen. Jon...

  • California voters take up Prop 50, a Democratic push for more US House seats

    California voters take up Prop 50, a Democratic push for more US House seats

    Law Reviews 11/03/2025

    The national battle to control the U.S. House shifts to California on Tuesday as voters consider a Democratic proposal that could erase as many as five Republican districts and blunt President Donald Trump’s moves to safeguard his party’s...

  • Columbia Law Review

    Columbia Law Review

    Law Reviews 01/23/2017

    The Columbia Law Review is one of the world’s leading publications of legal scholarship. Founded in 1901, the Review is an independent nonprofit corporation that produces a law journal edited and published entirely by students at Columbia Law S...

New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.