President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on June 11, 2026 [1], that prevents U.S. states from enacting their own artificial intelligence regulations.
The move effectively centralizes AI oversight at the federal level. This shift eliminates the ability of individual states to create safety safeguards or consumer protections, replacing a diverse regulatory landscape with a single national standard.
The proclamation follows a budget proposal reported in June 2025 that sought to ban state-level AI regulation for 10 years [2]. While some reports describe the action as an executive order, others identify it as part of a broader budget-driven strategy to consolidate power [2].
Trump said that states should not be able to create their own AI regulations because the country needs a single, strong federal framework [2]. He said that a uniform national policy is necessary to avoid a patchwork of conflicting state rules that could hinder the industry.
Industry leaders have reacted with a mixture of caution and support. Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, said that the release of cutting-edge AI models should be blocked or reversed [3]. Amodei's comments reflect a broader debate over whether federal control will lead to more stringent safety measures or a total lack of oversight.
Critics of the plan argue that the 10-year ban [2] concentrates too much power within the executive branch. They said that removing state-level checks undermines the ability of local governments to respond to the specific harms caused by powerful AI models in their jurisdictions.
The signing ceremony took place in the White House Oval Office in Washington, D.C. [1]. This action marks a significant pivot in how the U.S. government manages the rapid deployment of generative AI, and large-scale models.
“States should not be able to create their own AI regulations; we need a single, strong federal framework.”
By preempting state law for a decade, the federal government is prioritizing industrial uniformity and speed over the localized, experimental regulatory approaches seen in states like California. This creates a high-stakes environment where the safety of AI deployment depends entirely on federal agency appetite and executive orders, removing the 'laboratory of the states' as a fail-safe for public protection.
