Over the past five months, President Donald Trump has signed three Executive Orders that reveal a comprehensive strategy for artificial intelligence (AI) regulation in the United States. His approach focuses on two main goals: establishing federal standards for AI development while simultaneously blocking state governments from creating their own AI regulations. Here we review the Executive Orders and look at the impact on broadband.

I. The President's Approach to AI Promotion

President Trump believes AI will play a critical role in how Americans of all ages learn new skills, consume information, and navigate their daily lives—and that the United States is in a race for global technology dominance in AI development. To these ends, the President has taken two actions this year to promote his vision of AI.

1. Promoting "Unbiased AI" in Federal Procurement

In July 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government. This order doesn't directly regulate private AI companies. Instead, the EO sets requirements for AI systems that the federal government purchases. The order establishes two core principles for large language models (LLMs) used by federal agencies:

• Truth-seeking: AI models must prioritize historical accuracy, scientific inquiry, and objectivity when responding to factual questions.
• Ideological Neutrality: AI systems should not manipulate responses to favor particular ideologies. Developers cannot intentionally encode partisan judgments into AI outputs unless users can see and control these settings.

The Executive Order specifically targets what it calls "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) programming in AI models. The EO cites examples of AI systems that allegedly altered the race or gender of historical figures in generated images or refused certain requests due to concerns about discrimination.

Federal agencies must now include these requirements in their AI contracts. Vendors who fail to comply after a reasonable cure period will be responsible for decommissioning costs if their contracts are terminated.

On December 11, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought sent federal department and agency heads a memorandum clarifying that when procuring an LLM, agencies must obtain sufficient information from the vendor to determine whether that LLM complies with the Unbiased AI Principles. Agencies must request the following from a vendor:

• Acceptable Use Policy. This document is typically drafted by the original LLM developer to characterize and differentiate appropriate and inappropriate use of their product offering. 
• Model, System, and/or Data Cards. These materials from the LLM developer outline all essential information about the model, system, and/or data as it relates to the product offering. Information provided often includes summaries of the training process, identified risks and mitigations, and model evaluation scores on LLM benchmarks. It is uncommon for a vendor to produce all three types (model, system, data) of summary cards. 
• End User Resources. Such resources may include product tutorials, developer guides, or other best tools to help customers ensure proper use of the LLM and maximize utility. 
• Mechanism For End User Feedback. This requirement may be satisfied by a general inbox, specific product point of contact, or similar mechanism for providing feedback to the vendor on outputs that violate the Unbiased AI Principles. 

Director Vought also made it clear that for cases where an agency develops its own LLM or small language model, accompanying documentation that similarly demonstrates and assesses the integration of Unbiased AI Principles over the lifecycle of development is expected. At a minimum, agency documentation is expected to address:

• How the agency conducted the pre-training and training of the model;
• How the agency proceeded to evaluate the model, and whether or how recurring or ongoing evaluations are performed;
• What enterprise controls are built into the model, and how those controls may be accessed and configured; and
• How the agency’s development team considers feedback from end users. 

2. Accelerating AI Development Through the Genesis Mission

In November 2025, President Trump launched the Genesis Mission, an initiative aimed at accelerating scientific discovery using AI by creating a massive integrated platform combining federal resources. This federal investment in AI development positions the U.S. government as an active participant in advancing AI technology rather than primarily as a regulator.

According to the Executive Order, the Genesis Mission will:

• Build an "American Science and Security Platform" operated by the Department of Energy
• Integrate supercomputers, AI modeling tools, and federal scientific datasets
• Enable AI agents to automate research workflows and test hypotheses
• Focus on priority areas including advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear energy, quantum computing, and semiconductors

The platform, under the direction of the Secretary of Energy, will combine resources from national laboratories, universities, and private companies to train scientific foundation models and accelerate breakthroughs in areas of national importance, including:

• advanced manufacturing;
• biotechnology;
• critical materials;
• nuclear fission and fusion energy;
• quantum information science; and
• semiconductors and microelectronics.

Timeline

The Executive Order mandates a number of milestones for the Genesis Mission:

January 23, 2026: The Secretary of Energy will send the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology a detailed list of at least 20 science and technology challenges of national importance to be addressed by the Genesis Mission.

February 22, 2026: The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology will expand the list of challenges to be addressed.

February 22, 2026: The Secretary of Energy will identify Federal computing, storage, and networking resources available to support the Genesis Mission.

March 24, 2026: The Secretary of Energy will 1) identify a set of initial data and model assets for use in the Mission, including digitization, standardization, metadata, and provenance tracking and 2) develop a plan for incorporating datasets from federally funded research, other agencies, academic institutions, and approved private-sector partners.

July 22, 2026: The Secretary of Energy will review capabilities across Federal research facilities for robotic laboratories and production facilities with the ability to engage in AI-directed experimentation and manufacturing.

August 21, 2026: The Secretary of Energy will demonstrate an initial operating capability of the American Science and Security Platform for at least one of the national science and technology challenges

November 24, 2026: (and annually thereafter): The Secretary of Energy will submit a report to the President describing:

• The American Science and Security Platform's operational status and capabilities;
• Progress toward integration across Federal research partners, including shared access to computing resources, data infrastructure, and research facilities;
• The status of user engagement, including participation of student researchers and any related training;
• Updates on research efforts and outcomes achieved, including measurable scientific advances, publications, and prototype technologies;
• The scope and outcomes of public-private partnerships, including collaborative research projects and any technology transitions or commercialization activities; and
• Any identified needs or recommendations for authorities or interagency support to achieve the Mission’s objectives.

II. Restricting State-Level AI Regulation

In recent years, state lawmakers have enacted dozens of state AI laws, addressing issues from frontier model public safety regulations and AI consumer protection laws to chatbot safeguards and bans on harmful AI-generated deepfakes and nonconsensual impersonations.¹ In October, for example, California enacted a new measure to address the use of AI in healthcare communications. The legislation aims to prevent deceptive practices by prohibiting AI systems from using terms that imply licensure or certification in a healthcare profession and protecting consumers from misleading representations in AI-generated health advice, care reports or assessments.

On December 8, President Trump said in a social media post, "We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS." And the President vowed to issue an Executive Order to curb state AI laws.

The Preemption Strategy

President Trump's most recent Executive Order, signed December 11 and titled Ensuring A National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, directly targets state AI laws. The order articulates three main problems with state-level AI regulation:

1. Compliance burden: Having 50 different state regulatory regimes creates challenges, especially for startups trying to navigate varying requirements.
2. Ideological requirements: Some state laws may require AI companies to embed particular values or alter outputs. The order specifically criticizes Colorado's law banning "algorithmic discrimination," suggesting it could force AI models to produce false results to avoid differential impacts on protected groups.
3. Interstate commerce interference: State laws may impermissibly regulate beyond state borders, affecting national and international commerce.

Enforcement Mechanisms

The Executive Order establishes several tools to challenge and restrict state AI laws.

• AI Litigation Task Force: The Attorney General must establish a task force by January 10, 2026, to challenge state AI laws that the Administration views as unconstitutional or preempted by federal law. The task force will argue that certain state laws improperly regulate interstate commerce or conflict with federal regulations.
• State law evaluation: The Secretary of Commerce must publish an evaluation by March 11, 2026, identifying "onerous" state AI laws that conflict with federal policy. This evaluation will specifically target laws that require AI models to alter truthful outputs or compel disclosures that might violate the First Amendment.
• Funding restrictions: By March 11, the Secretary of Commerce will issue a Public Notice specifying the conditions under which states may be eligible for non-deployment funds from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. States identified as having "onerous" AI laws will be ineligible for non-deployment funds. Other federal agencies are directed to consider making the absence of such laws a condition for discretionary grants.
• Federal preemption standards: By March 11, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr will initiate a proceeding to determine whether to adopt a Federal reporting and disclosure standard for AI models that preempts conflicting State laws. By March 11, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson will issue a policy statement on the application of the Federal Trade Commission Act’s prohibition on unfair and deceptive acts or practices to AI models. That policy statement will explain the circumstances under which state laws that require alterations to the truthful outputs of AI models are preempted by the Federal Trade Commission Act’s prohibition on engaging in deceptive acts or practices affecting commerce.
• Legislative framework: The order calls for developing legislation to establish a uniform federal AI policy that would formally preempt state laws conflicting with federal priorities.

Exceptions to Preemption

The Executive Order acknowledges that some state AI laws should remain intact. States would retain authority over:

• Child safety protections
• AI compute and data center infrastructure (except general permitting reforms)
• State government procurement and use of AI
• Other topics to be determined

The Administration's Rationale

The White House argues this approach is necessary for American competitiveness in AI development. According to the Administration's fact sheet, state legislatures have introduced over 1,000 AI bills [note: few have been enacted], creating what it calls an inconsistent and costly compliance regime. The Administration contends that the most restrictive states should not dictate national AI policy and that reducing compliance costs will lower barriers to AI innovation.

The Administration's goal is to ensure American companies aren't subject to restrictions that international competitors, particularly from China, don't face.

Is It Legal?

The AI Preemption EO could be subject to legal challenges from State Attorneys General. In anticipation of the E.O. on November 25, 2025, the National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter on behalf of a bipartisan coalition of 36 state attorneys general to Congressional leaders, urging them to reject proposals for a federal moratorium that would prohibit states from enacting or enforcing laws addressing artificial intelligence (AI).

The coalition emphasizes that while AI is a transformative technology with the potential to benefit sectors such as healthcare, public safety, and education, it also poses significant risks—especially to vulnerable populations, including children and seniors. Recent incidents have demonstrated how AI can be used to perpetrate scams, distort reality, and engage in inappropriate or harmful interactions with users.

In addition, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) stated that his office would “take steps to examine the legality or potential illegality” of the AI Preemption EO, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), who recently proposed an “AI Bill of Rights” to protect Florida consumers, stated that an “executive order doesn’t/can’t preempt state legislative action.”

The issuance of the AI Preemption EO follows a series of failed legislative efforts.  In July, the Senate rejected, 99-1, an amendment to a proposed budget reconciliation bill that would have imposed a sweeping moratorium on the enforcement of state and local AI regulations.  And Republican congressional leaders abandoned an attempt to include an AI preemption provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), despite White House backing. 

What This Means

President Trump's AI policy represents a distinctive approach: the U.S. government will be an active participant in advancing AI technology while adopting light federal regulation focused on content standards for government-purchased AI, combined with aggressive federal preemption of state regulation. Rather than creating extensive federal rules for private AI companies, the Administration is working to prevent states from creating such rules while investing heavily in federal AI development through initiatives like the Genesis Mission.

This creates a framework in which AI companies face minimal regulatory requirements from any level of government, with the primary federal interventions being procurement standards for AI systems used by federal agencies and efforts to establish a unified national framework that supersedes state authority.

Notes

1. Shapanka, Matthew and August Gweon, "President Trump Signs Executive Order to Block State AI Laws" Covington & Burling LLP (December 12, 2025) https://www.globalpolicywatch.com/2025/12/president-trump-signs-executiv...

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