States push back on Trump’s plan for single national AI policy

President Donald Trump is facing pushback from states over his proposal for a single federal policy to govern artificial intelligence, something he is asking Congress to implement through a separate bill or the National Defense Authorization Act, which is currently under consideration.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was among the loudest voices, saying it was “not acceptable” to deny people the right to self-government of these fast-evolving technologies.

“Stripping states of jurisdiction to regulate AI is a subsidy to Big Tech and will prevent states from protecting against online censorship of political speech, predatory applications that target children, violations of intellectual property rights and data center intrusions on power/water resources,” the Republican governor posted Tuesday.

DeSantis called AI “the most significant economic and cultural shift occurring at the moment,” but warned federal government “overreach” would let “technology companies run wild.”

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee-Sanders also opposed the plan.

Trump and Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, “are racing to figure out how to slip a state AI law provision into the must-pass annual defense policy bill, their last chance to do so before the year’s end,” Axios reported Thursday.

That worries Rick Stevens, head of the Florida Citizens Alliance, which sent out a blitz to its 250,000 members urging them to contact the White House and their lawmakers.

“I don’t think people are thinking about artificial intelligence correctly,” Stevens told The Lion in an interview. “They’re just thinking about it as a new technology, and the companies are looking at the potential for profit. We all get that.

“But the problem is people have not taken into consideration its impact on children and what we need to do to make sure it doesn’t harm kids,” he continued. “We didn’t do a good job of that with social media, and we’ve seen and are seeing the consequences of that. Certainly we should learn from that mistake and not overlook protecting kids.”

Another try in the defense bill

Ryan Kennedy, the alliance’s policy and advocacy director, said lawmakers tried to include a 10-year moratorium on states regulating AI in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed this summer but did not succeed. Now a potential regulatory freeze included in the defense bill – which funds the military – could hinder states in protecting children’s data.

“AI collects tons and tons of data to help its algorithm, and we want to make sure that minor children’s data is protected,” he told The Lion. “And the other aspect is making sure that parental rights are protected, meaning that a parent has to say whether or not their child can use AI. That would include in a school environment, but that also would include outside of a school environment.”

Kennedy said his organization wants to stop the restriction on states and influence Trump should he decide to issue an executive order to override state AI laws, something Axios also reported.

“We want to let them know that any kind of regulatory freeze at a state level is not good, and that if there is an executive order, that it at least protects parental rights and protects children when it comes to data privacy,” he said.

Lawmakers are “racing to finalize the 2026 defense policy bill by the end of the week,” Federal News Network reported, and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Virginia, said the goal is to hold a floor vote by the second week of December.

The House and Senate differ slightly in the funding amount for the approximately $900 billion bill.

Kennedy said the alliance is asking its members to contact the chairs of all the legislative committees that will review the defense funding to express their concerns.

“The NDAA is a must-pass bill so it’s a good vehicle if you wanted to get something through, but this is all about protecting kids,” he said. “We believe AI is an emerging technology that is being developed very quickly. It does have its pros, but it also has its cons.

“Common Sense Media found one-third of children would rather talk to AI about a serious issue such as relationships or mental health than humans. That’s a concerning number. If you want to have this debate then that’s fine but do it in public and make sure that you know that children are being protected.”

Photo credit: The White House