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ACLU Statement on President Trump’s Unilateral Attack on State Regulation of Artificial Intelligence | American Civil Liberties Union
webRelevant to AI governance debates around federal vs. state regulatory authority; represents a civil liberties perspective on the implications of centralizing AI oversight under the Trump administration.
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Importance: 42/100press releasenews
Summary
The ACLU issued a statement criticizing the Trump administration's executive order preempting state-level AI regulations, arguing it undermines civil liberties protections and democratic accountability. The statement contends that federal preemption of state AI laws removes important local safeguards against discriminatory and harmful AI deployments. The ACLU calls for preserving states' rights to regulate AI in ways that protect residents from algorithmic harm.
Key Points
- •Trump administration's executive order seeks to preempt state AI regulations, centralizing oversight at the federal level.
- •ACLU argues state-level AI laws provide critical civil liberties protections that a federal preemption would eliminate.
- •The statement highlights concerns about AI-enabled discrimination in areas like employment, housing, and criminal justice.
- •ACLU frames this as an attack on democratic accountability and the ability of states to protect their residents.
- •The press release reflects broader tensions between federal AI policy and state-level regulatory efforts.
1 FactBase fact citing this source
| Entity | Property | Value | As Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) | policy-position | Publicly opposed Trump administration December 2025 executive order preempting state AI regulation | Dec 2025 |
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ACLU Statement on President Trump’s Unilateral Attack on State Regulation of Artificial Intelligence | American Civil Liberties Union
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ACLU Statement on President Trump’s Unilateral Attack on State Regulation of Artificial Intelligence
December 11, 2025 7:20 pm
Spokesperson
Cody Venzke ›
Former Senior Policy Counsel
ACLU National Political Advocacy Division
Media Contact
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(212) 549-2666
125 Broad Street
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United States
WASHINGTON — Today, President Trump issued an executive order attacking state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI). The order builds on the administration’s previous efforts, including its “ AI Action Plan ,” which directed agencies to ensure that AI development is “unencumbered.” The order directs federal agencies to withhold funding from states if they enact regulations that are more than “minimally burdensome.” It also establishes a task force to file lawsuits against states’ AI regulations and threatens to withhold critical broadband funding.
In response, Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union , issued the following statement:
“President Trump’s executive order doubles down on a dangerous policy that the Republican-led Congress has rejected not once, but twice: displacing states from their critical role in ensuring that AI is safe, trustworthy, and nondiscriminatory. Bipartisan groups of governors, attorneys general, and lawmakers have opposed these efforts for good reason: Although AI might bring substantial benefits, it also carries substantial risks, and America will not win the AI ‘race’ if the AI used by the government, employers, schools, and health care providers is hallucinatory, unreliable, and dangerous. For this reason, it is no surprise that the first attempt at attacking state AI laws was defeated in a landslide 99-1 vote in the Senate.
“Moreover, the executive order is not just dangerous, it’s unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has made clear that the president may not unilaterally and retroactively change the conditions on federal grants to states after the fact. Each of those grants are an agreement between states and the federal government, and threatening to withhold funds for schools, broadband buildout, nutritional support, and more for unrelated AI policy fights will unnecessarily harm the American people.”
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
Accountability in Artificial Intelligence
Racial Justice
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