Scoop: White House leans on GOP states over AI rules
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The Trump administration is pushing back on Republican-led AI bills in Nebraska and Tennessee, with sources familiar with the negotiations describing the outreach as pressure to weaken or abandon the efforts.
Why it matters: This behind-the-scenes push puts GOP state lawmakers who support AI guardrails but don't want to cross the White House in a tough position.
- It's happening as federal safeguards remain stalled in Congress, despite growing public support for regulation.
Behind the scenes: White House officials spoke to lawmakers in each state to push for changes, and some sources cast the outreach as an inappropriate pressure tactic.
- "It's important that we let the public know that we have unelected bureaucrats weighing in on issues they shouldn't be," one Republican state legislator told Axios.
- This comes after the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs sent a letter to Utah officials opposing a Republican-led AI transparency and kids' safety bill there, as Axios previously reported.
The other side: "We are proud of the President's National AI Framework. The Trump Administration is eager to work with partners who will help us implement that policy and achieve a comprehensive AI framework that serves all Americans," a White House official told Axios in a statement.
- These bills were part of broader conversations between administration and state officials about the president's policy priorities, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.
Zoom in: The bills discussed in Nebraska and Tennessee originally mirrored AI transparency measures in states like California and New York.
- In Nebraska, LB1083, Republican state Sen. Tanya Storer's Adopt the Transparency in Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act focused on AI risk management and transparency requirements. Storer did not respond to requests for comment.
- In Tennessee, SB2171, Republican state Sen. Ken Yager's Artificial Intelligence Public Safety and Child Protection Transparency Act would impose safety and transparency measures for AI companies with protections for younger users. Yager did not respond to requests for comment.
"This bill was amended at the suggestion of the White House," Yager said during an April 7 committee hearing, adding a phone call that morning led to an amendment that would "delete some portions of the bill."
- "It is not a broad AI regulation bill," Yager said. "It does not regulate an entity simply because they are a frontier developer. Only chatbots."
- The Nebraska bill was also amended to be narrowly focused on chatbots.
The bottom line: After multiple failed attempts to get Congress to override state AI laws, the White House is shifting its strategy to direct intervention, playing whack-a-mole across GOP state legislatures.
