A bid to bar states from regulating AI is getting pushback

Republicans’ push to ban state AI regulations for the next 10 years as part of the party’s massive tax and immigration bill is forging ahead after the House narrowly passed it, but obstacles are mounting. Notable among them: the specter of opposition within the party. Congressional Democrats, consumer advocates, state lawmakers, and state attorneys general from both parties have expressed outrage at the proposed moratorium, which would bar states from enforcing regulations that target AI scams, deepfakes, and other AI-specific harms. But with Republicans controlling Congress and the White House, they may be hard-pressed to stop the ban unless some GOP senators break ranks. That’s because House leaders included the provision in their “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the official name of the sprawling budget reconciliation package that Republicans hope will carry most of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. The reconciliation process, intended to speed passage of the federal budget, makes the bill immune to a Senate filibuster, meaning it could pass with no Democrats in support.