White House Releases Trump National AI Legislative Framework Seeking Broad Preemption of State AI Laws
The White House on Friday released a four-page national AI legislative framework from the Trump administration urging Congress to act this year and calling for broad federal preemption of state AI laws to create a “minimally burdensome” national standard. The document — which Fox News obtained and which OSTP Director Michael Kratsios and AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks described as creating one national policy or “One Rulebook” — argues AI development is inherently interstate and should bar states from regulating development or penalizing developers for third-party misuse while carving out traditional state police powers (child-protection, anti‑fraud, consumer‑protection) and zoning; it also addresses AI “replicas,” energy-cost mandates for tech firms, regulatory sandboxes, and child-safety and parental-control measures. The plan is expected to shape Republican-led efforts on Capitol Hill, though long-standing disputes over federal preemption, copyright and kids’ safety remain unresolved.
📌 Key Facts
- The White House publicly released a four-page national AI legislative framework on Friday; Fox News reports it obtained the full document and that it will be shared with congressional leadership.
- The framework seeks broad federal preemption of state AI laws, urging Congress to "preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens" to create a "minimally burdensome national standard."
- White House officials (OSTP Director Michael Kratsios and AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks) said on the record the goal is to establish a single "one national policy" or "One Rulebook" for AI, arguing AI development is inherently interstate and tied to foreign policy and national security.
- The document states that states should not be allowed to regulate AI development in ways that conflict with federal policy and should not penalize AI developers for third parties’ unlawful uses of their models.
- The proposal explicitly excludes from federal preemption states' traditional "police powers," including child-protection, anti-fraud and consumer-protection laws of general applicability, and does not displace state zoning authority over AI infrastructure placement.
- The framework urges Congress to address specific issues such as AI "replicas" that simulate a person's likeness or voice, codify a requirement that tech companies pay for increased energy demands, and establish "regulatory sandboxes" for developers to experiment under relaxed rules.
- It emphasizes measures to protect children online and to empower parents to control their children's digital environment, while framing the package as protecting free speech and children to help build bipartisan support and pressing Congress to act "this year."
- Axios reports the plan is expected to shape Republican-led efforts on Capitol Hill, but longstanding disputes over federal preemption, copyright and kids’ safety remain unresolved and have stalled congressional action for years.
📊 Relevant Data
In the U.S. tech industry as of 2023, Black professionals hold only 6% of web developer jobs despite comprising 13% of the overall workforce, while Asian professionals hold 34% of tech jobs.
Diversity In Tech Statistics By Demographics And Facts (2025) — ElectroIQ
Hispanic workers hold about 9% of AI technical occupations in the U.S., compared to holding more than 18% of jobs overall in the country as of 2025.
Tech's diversity crisis is baking bias into AI systems — Context by TRF
Approximately 95% of deepfake videos on notorious sharing sites target women, highlighting a significant gender disparity in non-consensual image-based abuse as of 2026.
It Hits Different: Sexualised Deepfake Abuse and Digital Inequality — DOSRHUL
Black communities in areas like South Carolina face disproportionate pollution from AI data centers due to their location in historically underserved regions, exacerbating environmental burdens as of 2025.
Black Communities Face More Pollution Due to Demand for AI — Capital B News
State AI laws in the U.S., such as those in Colorado and Utah effective in 2026, were enacted to address risks like algorithmic discrimination in high-risk AI systems, driven by the absence of comprehensive federal guidelines.
New State AI Laws are Effective on January 1, 2026, But a New Executive Order Signals Disruption — King & Spalding
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- The Trump administration on Friday publicly released a four-page national AI legislative framework outlining its recommendations to Congress.
- The framework explicitly calls for Congress to "preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens" in order to create a "minimally burdensome national standard."
- It urges Congress to address AI "replicas" that simulate a person's likeness or voice, codify Trump's pledge to require tech companies to pay for their increased energy demands, and establish "regulatory sandboxes" so developers can experiment under relaxed rules.
- The document emphasizes that AI services and platforms must take measures to protect children online while empowering parents to control their children's "digital environment and upbringing."
- Axios reports that this plan is expected to shape Republican-led efforts on Capitol Hill, but that long‑standing disputes over federal preemption, copyright and kids’ safety remain unresolved and have stalled action for years.
- Fox News Digital obtained the actual legislative framework document, not just descriptions from sources, and reports that it will be shared with congressional leadership on Friday.
- White House OSTP Director Michael Kratsios and AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks give on-the-record interviews explaining that the framework is meant to create 'one national policy' and a single 'One Rulebook' for AI, explicitly preempting many state AI laws.
- The framework states that states should not be allowed to regulate AI development because it is 'inherently interstate' and tied to foreign policy and national security, and that states should not penalize AI developers for third parties’ unlawful uses of their models.
- The proposal specifies that federal preemption should not cover states’ traditional 'police powers' such as child-protection, anti-fraud and consumer-protection laws of general applicability, nor state zoning authority over AI infrastructure placement.
- The article emphasizes that the White House wants Congress to codify the framework 'this year' and argues it can garner bipartisan support, framing it as designed to prevent censorship and protect free speech and children.