Legislative lowdown: Trump seeks to preempt state AI laws

In recent years a number of states have moved to rein in AI by passing laws that regulate usage of the technology in different facets of everyday life, including the workplace.

President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to weaken this legislation, but any major changes to the regulatory landscape would likely require Congress to act.

Push for a “national policy framework.” The president criticized the current regulatory landscape for AI regulation in a Dec. 11 executive order. The current patchwork of state and local laws, he said, “makes compliance more challenging, particularly for start-ups.”

He also called out certain laws for “ideological bias,” singling out Colorado’s algorithmic discrimination law, which was passed in 2024 but hasn’t yet taken effect. This law requires employers to disclose when AI tools are being used in certain areas of HR decision-making, like hiring, compensation, and termination, as well as take steps to mitigate discrimination-related risks.

The executive order calls on the attorney general to develop an AI Litigation Task Force to review state AI laws and flag any deemed unconstitutional, unlawful, or preempted by federal regulations. States that don’t comply with the order may lose federal funding to develop broadband networks.

Trump is also calling on White House officials to recommend legislation for a uniform federal AI policy that would preempt state laws.

What this means for HR. While a national AI policy could potentially reduce compliance headaches for HR pros currently working to comply with rules across different jurisdictions, the road to passing such legislation in Congress looks long. While US lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills to regulate AI, none have made it past introduction.

For now, state-level AI laws remain in place. This means that employers still have to comply with laws already in effect in states like California, Utah, and Texas, as well as watch out for emerging legislation in other jurisdictions. Lawmakers in states including Illinois and New York have already said they’ll forge ahead with legislation to regulate AI despite Trump’s order.

Cybersecurity and policy experts told the Wall Street Journal they expect the order to be challenged in court. “It will be a matter of the courts whether this is a states’ rights issue, a national security issue, or fought on other grounds,” Kanyi Maqubela, managing partner at tech investor Kindred Ventures, told the newspaper.