Trump's AI Preemption Faces Bipartisan State Pushback

President Donald Trump has pledged to sign an executive order to assert federal control over AI regulation, but The Verge notes the plan is legally vague and likely to face constitutional challenges. The White House’s leak and public comments have prompted intense debate — and widespread resistance from state governments that have already passed their own AI laws.

Reporter Tina Nguyen interviews Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the bipartisan Alliance for Secure AI, who says state-level pushback has been unusually bipartisan: many governors, attorneys general, and legislators — including deep-red states like Texas — are defending laws they worked to pass and oppose federal preemption under 10th Amendment and federalism arguments. Early polling (Institute for Family Studies/YouGov) suggests voters reject the federal override of state AI rules.

Within the GOP there’s a split: some senators (notably Sen. Ted Cruz) back a moratorium citing AGI fears and competitiveness with China, while other conservatives worry about industry overreach. Steinhauser warns industry influence is strong (he cites $250–$300M in lobbying and PAC activity), and growing public concern — fueled by episodes like the “DeepSeek” moment and recent Character AI reports — could make AI regulation a midterm campaign issue.

In short: a federal AI moratorium is politically fraught — states are dug in, industry is lobbying hard, and voters are increasingly attentive to harms and governance questions.