Trump Urges Congress to Block State AI Laws and Centralize Control in Washington
A new set of “legislative recommendations” backed by President Donald Trump is urging Congress to pass laws that would block states from regulating artificial intelligence, replacing state authority with a centralized federal system governing how AI is developed, used, and enforced nationwide.
The move follows warnings from a bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general that similar efforts to centralize AI authority at the federal level would strip states of their ability to protect citizens and override hundreds of existing state laws.
The White House document is not vague about the shift.
It directly calls for removing states from core areas of AI governance and placing that authority in Washington. The language is unusually blunt, laying out—in plain terms—a plan to cut states out of decision-making entirely.
The recommendations include only one narrow exception allowing states to enforce specific criminal laws.
The document states:
“Congress should ensure that it does not preempt states from enforcing their own generally applicable laws protecting children, such as prohibitions on child sexual abuse material, even where such material is generated by AI.”
Outside of that limited carveout, the recommendations call for Congress to override state authority.
It states:
“Preemption must ensure that State laws do not govern areas better suited to the Federal Government or act contrary to the United States’ national strategy to achieve global AI dominance.”
The language then becomes even more direct:
“States should not be permitted to regulate AI development, because it is an inherently interstate phenomenon with key foreign policy and national security implications.”
That is a clear instruction to Congress: pass a law that prevents states from regulating AI development.
The document also targets how states regulate AI use:
“States should not unduly burden Americans’ use of AI for activity that would be lawful if performed without AI.”
And it removes state-level accountability mechanisms:
“States should not be permitted to penalize AI developers for a third party’s unlawful conduct involving their models.”
What Congress Is Being Asked to Do
The recommendations are asking Congress to:
- Override state AI laws
- Ban states from regulating AI development
- Limit state control over how AI is used
- Block states from holding AI companies accountable
This is a direct push to remove states as independent regulators and replace them with a single federal authority.
Why the Language Stands Out
Most federal proposals use softer language—terms like “coordination” or “national standards.”
This document does not.
It states plainly that states should not be permitted to regulate AI.
That reflects how the issue is being framed:
- AI is treated as an interstate system
- AI is tied to foreign policy and national security
- AI is linked to a national strategy for “global AI dominance”
Under that framing, state laws are positioned as obstacles that need to be overridden.
The push also comes as Trump has already backed large-scale centralization of AI infrastructure through the $500 billion “Stargate” project with OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank.
It also comes as U.S. lawmakers advance the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act, which would repeal Section 230 and replace state-level variation with a single federal rulebook governing AI systems and online content.
What Happens If Congress Passes It
If Congress turns these recommendations into law, authority over AI moves to the federal government and stays there.
That authority does not stay with one administration.
It carries forward:
- The next administration inherits the same control
- Policy direction can change, but the power structure does not
- States cannot step in if federal policy shifts
There is no alternative layer of governance once that authority is centralized.
Everything runs through whoever controls Washington at the time.
The document makes clear what will guide those decisions:
“Preemption must ensure that State laws do not… act contrary to the United States’ national strategy to achieve global AI dominance.”
That standard allows federal policymakers to override state laws if they conflict with federal priorities.
Bottom Line
Trump is asking Congress to pass a law that removes states from AI regulation and places that authority in Washington—while at the same time backing massive AI infrastructure consolidation through Stargate and supporting legislation that builds a single federal rulebook for AI and online content.
Together, these moves concentrate control over AI systems, data, and information flows at the federal level, where that authority does not reset with elections—it transfers intact to whoever holds power next.
source jonfleetwood.substack.com
Anapat
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They are attempting to enforce it because they anticipate people will reject it.
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