State-level AI rules survive — for now — as Senate sinks moratorium despite White House pressure

The Senate is quietly winning the battle over states abilities to craft their own artificial intelligence AI regulations but there is still a desire to chart out a rough framework at the federal level The issue of a blanket AI moratorium which would have halted states from crafting their own AI regulations was thought to have been put to bed over the summer But the push was again revived by House Republicans who were considering dropping it into the annual National Defense Authorization Act However Republicans in the lower chamber have pulled back from that push even as the White House has pressed Congress to create a federal framework that would make regulations more cohesive across the country LAWMAKERS UNVEIL BIPARTISAN GUARD ACT AFTER PARENTS BLAME AI CHATBOTS FOR TEEN SUICIDES VIOLENCE A trio of Senate Republicans Sens Josh Hawley of Missouri Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin who banded together to block the original proposal cheered the provision's apparent rise from the grave Hawley reported Fox News Digital that it was good news that the provision would not be included in the defense authorization bill but warned that vigilance is needed and Congress requirements to act I mean for everybody out there saying Well Congress demands to act and create one standard I agree with that he reported And we can start by banning chat bots for minors Sen Ted Cruz R-Texas who chairs the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation committee initially pushed for a moratorium to be included in Trump s One Big Beautiful Bill His position on the issue has been to unchain AI to give the U S a competitive edge against foreign adversaries like China But that attempt was nearly unanimously defeated over the summer and stripped from the bill And Cruz hasn t given up The discussions are ongoing but it is the White House that is driving Cruz advised Fox News Digital PROTECTING KIDS FROM AI CHATBOTS WHAT THE GUARD ACT MEANSSenate Majority Leader John Thune R-S D acknowledged that getting the moratorium into the defense authorization bill would be complicated earlier in the week That s controversial as you know Thune mentioned So I mean I think the White House is working with senators and House members for that matter to try and come up with something that works but preserves states rights Trump declared last month that the U S MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of State Regulatory Regimes and argued that over regulation at the state level was threatening the venture and expected advance of AI The White House reportedly drafted an executive order that would have blocked states from regulating AI that would have withheld certain streams of federal funding from states that didn t comply with the order and enlisted the Department of Justice to sue states that crafted their own regulations So far Trump has not taken action on the order AI COULD DRIVE US UNEMPLOYMENT TO SENATORS WARN AS NEW BILL TARGETS JOB TRACKING Blackburn who was the leading competitor in thwarting Cruz s previous attempt to assert an AI moratorium into Trump s marquee tax bill also wants specific kind of federal framework but one that is designed to protect children consumers creators and conservatives a spokesperson for Blackburn reported Fox News Digital in a report Senator Blackburn will continue her decade-long effort to work with her colleagues in both the House and Senate to pass federal standards to govern the virtual space and rein in Big Tech companies who are preying on children to turn a profit the spokesperson announced And Johnson another key figure in blocking the moratorium earlier this year argued to Fox News Digital that it was an enormously complex difficulty It's my definition of a complication But unlike his counterparts he was more skeptical about Congress producing a framework that he would be confident with I'm not a real fan of this place Johnson mentioned And I think we'd be far better off if we passed a lot fewer laws I'm not sure how often we get it right Look at healthcare look at how that's been wholly botched What are we gonna do with AI Hard to say but we just don't go through the problem-solving process he continued And again I'm concerned the real experts on this have got vested interests Whatever they're advising is can you really trust them