Federal Regulation on Artificial Intelligence in the United States

July 31, 2026

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Federal regulation of artificial intelligence in the United States is fragmented. The executive branch has shaped policy through executive orders and agency guidance, while Congress has not yet enacted a comprehensive AI statute.

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1.     Overview of the latest executive orders on AI regulation

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 The first attempt to provide policy guidance on AI at the federal level was President Biden's Executive Order 14110, “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence," issued on October 30, 2023.[1] The order was a government-wide effort directing dozens of federal agencies to act across safety and security, innovation, worker support, civil rights, consumer protection, privacy, federal AI adoption, and U.S. international leadership.

On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration rescinded EO 14110 as part of a broad first-day rescission order.[2] Three days later, Executive Order 14179, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” declared the policy of the United States to ‘sustain and enhance’ American AI dominance and directed federal agencies to suspend, revise, or rescind actions taken under Order 14110 that conflicted with that policy (on the theory that the existing rules were themselves barriers to American AI innovation). [3] Order 14179 also directed the development, within 180 days, of an action plan to implement the new AI policy.

While the action plan was being drafted, Congress battled and rejected the first attempt to preempt state AI regulation by statute: The House-passed version of H.R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) did include a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation. [4] The Senate struck the provision on July 1, 2025, by a 99–1 vote. [5] The bill ultimately enacted contains no AI moratorium.

‍Three weeks later, on July 23, 2025, the White House released Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan [6], a non-binding document containing recommendations of policy actions. This document is organized into three pillars (Accelerating Innovation, Building American AI Infrastructure, and Leading in International Diplomacy and Security) and reaches not only technology policy but also trade, national security, energy, labor, education, antitrust, and financial markets. [7]

‍Following the policy action, President Trump signed a number of executive orders the same day: one accelerating federal permitting of data-center infrastructure [8] and one promoting the export of the American “AI technology stack" [9] and Executive Order 14319, “Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government.” [10]

‍On December 11, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14365, “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” [11] This order directed the U.S. Attorney General to create an AI Litigation Task Force charged with challenging state AI laws in court. The EO ordered the Commerce Department to catalog “onerous” state laws and contemplated conditioning federal funding on states declining to enforce conflicting AI rules. [12] From a constitutional perspective, federal preemption typically flows from congressional enactment rather than executive orders. [13]

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2.     The Great American Artificial Intelligence Act (GAAIA). First attempt at a comprehensive federal bill.

‍On June 4, 2026, representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) released a 269-page discussion draft of the Great American Artificial Intelligence Act (GAAIA). This is the first attempt at a comprehensive, bipartisan federal AI framework. [14] A discussion draft is a proposal published for public comment before formal introduction: GAAIA has no bill number, sits in no committee, and faces no scheduled vote; feedback is being collected by the sponsors' offices.

‍The draft is organized in four titles: Frontier AI Governance, Workforce, Cybersecurity, and Research, Development, and International Cooperation.[15] Its core provisions would: require “large frontier developers” (entities with more than $500 million in annual gross revenue that have trained a frontier model) to publish frameworks addressing catastrophic risk and report critical safety incidents; mandate semi-annual audits by licensed Independent Verification Organizations, with civil penalties of up to $1 million per violation per day; protect whistleblowers; formally establish the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) at the Department of Commerce with $100 million per year for fiscal year 2027–2029; and preempt, for three years, state laws that specifically regulate the development of AI models, while preserving state authority over deployment and laws of general applicability.[16]

‍The sponsors frame the transparency and audit provisions as federalizing the substantive standards of California's SB-53, New York's RAISE Act, and Illinois' SB 315. GAAIA would “elevate” the transparency of these states, their auditing, and whistleblower protection provisions to nationwide standards, with state attorneys general sharing enforcement power. [17]

On June 25, 2026, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee marked up ten AI bills and advanced six GAAIA provisions as standalone legislation with bipartisan support (including statutory establishment of CAISI (H.R. 9363, the AI Security and Innovation Act); NIST “model card” documentation standards (H.R. 6461); K-12 AI literacy funding (H.R. 5584); NSF AI scholarships (H.R. 5351); the National AI Research Resource (H.R. 2385); and trustworthy AI fellowships (H.R. 9334)). [18] Those bills now await House floor scheduling.

‍On June 16, 2026, a bipartisan group of 203 state legislators from 42 states sent a letter urging Congress to reject the preemption provision, warning it would be weaponized in court against state laws outside its intended scope. [19]

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Disclaimer: This publication is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading or relying on this material does not create an attorney–client relationship.

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[1] Exec. Order No. 14,110, 88 Fed. Reg. 75,191 (Nov. 1, 2023) (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/01/2023-24283/safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence; see also https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47843.

[2] Exec. Order No. 14,148, 90 Fed. Reg. 8,237 (Jan. 28, 2025) (Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/28/2025-01901/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions.  

[3] Exec. Order No. 14,179, 90 Fed. Reg. 8,741 (Jan. 31, 2025) (Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/31/2025-02172/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence.

[4] H.R. 1, 119th Cong. § 43201(c) (as passed by the House, May 22, 2025), “[…] no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce, during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, any law or regulation of that State or a political subdivision thereof limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems entered into interstate commerce.” https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text/eh.

[5] Press Release, Off. of Sen. Edward J. Markey, After Weeks of Markey Raising the Alarm, Senate Strikes AI Moratorium from Budget Reconciliation Bill Overnight in Overwhelming 99–1 Vote (Jul. 1, 2025), https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/after-weeks-of-markey-raising-the-alarm-senate-strikes-ai-moratorium-from-budget-reconciliation-bill-overnight-in-overwhelming-99-1-vote.

[6] White House, Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan (Jul. 23, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf; see also Press Release, White House, White House Unveils America's AI Action Plan (Jul. 23, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2025/07/white-house-unveils-americas-ai-action-plan/.

[7] Latham & Watkins LLP, President Trump's AI Action Plan: Key Insights (Jul. 31, 2025), https://www.lw.com/en/insights/president-trump-ai-action-plan-key-insights.

[8] Exec. Order No. 14,318, 90 Fed. Reg. 35,385 (Jul. 28, 2025) (Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/28/2025-14212/accelerating-federal-permitting-of-data-center-infrastructure; see also https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/accelerating-federal-permitting-of-data-center-infrastructure/.

[9] Exec. Order No. 14,320, 90 Fed. Reg. 35,393 (Jul. 28, 2025) (Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/28/2025-14218/promoting-the-export-of-the-american-ai-technology-stack; see also https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/promoting-the-export-of-the-american-ai-technology-stack/. A third EO was signed the same day: Exec. Order No. 14,319, 90 Fed. Reg. 35,389 (Jul. 28, 2025) (Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/28/2025-14217/preventing-woke-ai-in-the-federal-government;

[10] Exec. Order No. 14,319, 90 Fed. Reg. 35,389 (Jul. 28, 2025) (Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/28/2025-14217/preventing-woke-ai-in-the-federal-government; It invokes the federal government's discretion as a purchaser rather than as a regulator, so that federal agencies should only procure large language models developed in accordance with two “Unbiased AI Principles"—truth-seeking and ideological neutrality—and instructs the Office of Management and Budget to issue implementing guidance within 120 days, with compliance terms (including vendor-borne decommissioning costs upon termination for noncompliance) to be incorporated into future federal LLM contracts.

[11] Exec. Order No. 14,365, 90 Fed. Reg. 58,499 (Dec. 16, 2025) (Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/16/2025-23092/ensuring-a-national-policy-framework-for-artificial-intelligence; see also https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/eliminating-state-law-obstruction-of-national-artificial-intelligence-policy/.

[12] Id.

[13] White & Case LLP, State AI Laws Under Federal Scrutiny: Key Takeaways from the Executive Order Establishing Federal AI Policy Framework (Jan. 15, 2026), https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/state-ai-laws-under-federal-scrutiny-key-takeaways-executive-order-establishing (“Because federal preemption typically flows from congressional enactments (rather than executive orders), Executive Order 14365 would likely not independently displace state laws.”); see also U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.

[14] Press Release, Rep. Lori Trahan, Trahan, Obernolte Unveil Federal AI Framework Discussion Draft (June 4, 2026), https://trahan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3783. See the full text of the discussion draft and a section-by-section summary on the same page.

[15] Great American Artificial Intelligence Act, tits. I–IV (Jun. 4, 2026); see also DLA Piper, Unpacking the Great American AI Act (Jun. 5, 2026), https://www.dlapiper.com/en-us/insights/publications/2026/06/unpacking-the-great-american-ai-act.

[16] Id.

[17]Frequently Asked Questions, Great American AI Act (Discussion Draft), Office of Rep. Lori Trahan 1–2 (Jun. 3, 2026), https://trahan.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2026.06.03_trahan_obernolte_ai_framework_faq.pdf; State Legislation: Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act, S.B. 53, 2025–2026 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2025); https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB53; Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act, S. 6953-B, 2025 Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2025), https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S6953/amendment/B; S.B. 315, 104th Gen. Assemb. (Ill. 2026), https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus/FullText?GAID=18&DocNum=315&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=0&SessionID=114.

[18] Press Release, H. Comm. on Sci., Space, & Tech., Chairman Babin Applauds Committee Passage of Bipartisan AI Legislation (Jun. 25, 2026), https://science.house.gov/2026/6/chairman-babin-applauds-committee-passage-of-bipartisan-ai-legislation; see also Press Release, Rep. Lori Trahan, House Panel Approves Key Trahan AI Priorities (Jun. 25, 2026), https://trahan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3802.

[19] Letter from 203 State Legislators to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate (June 16, 2026), https://ari.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/State-Lawmakers-Letter_-GAAIA-State-AI-Law-Preemption-6-16-26.pdf;

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