The US House of Representatives just narrowly passed a budget bill, which has been referred to by President Trump and others as "one big, beautiful bill." Hidden amongst the cuts to health care, debt add-ons and tax breaks for the rich is a ten-year ban of state AI laws.You read that right.States would be banned by the federal government from enforcing laws that regulate AI for the next decade.The vote fell largely along party lines, with nearly every Republican member of the House approving the bill.
This marks one of the most significant federal actions on technology policy in decades and it was buried in a budget bill that has nothing to do with AI.This isn't law just yet.The budget bill has to pass through the Senate and it could have a difficult road.It's expected that Democratic lawmakers will challenge the AI regulation ban under what's called the Byrd Rule, which prohibits "extraneous" provisions to the federal budget during the reconciliation process.Here’s the moment from Sen.
Blackburn pushing back on the idea of a state AI moratorium.https://t.co/bx0dbL2qmL pic.twitter.com/kAnl0sjudW— Zamaan Qureshi (@zamaan_qureshi) May 21, 2025Even some Senate Republicans seem wary of the ban.Sen.
Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee expressed concern that it would override state legislation that protects artists from deepfakes in her state.Sen.Josh Hawley of Missouri has also pushed back on the idea on the grounds that it could "tamp down on people's efforts to address" issues posed by AI.Supporters of the ban argue that it would stop a potentially confusing patchwork of differing state AI laws until Congress can craft its own federal legislation.
This is pretty odd coming from the "states' rights" crowd, but whatever.Opponents, like many Democratic lawmakers and advocacy organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, call it a dangerous giveaway to big tech firms, as these companies stand to benefit the most from a completely unregulated market.They also say it poses a serious danger to Americans, as it would leave the citizenry unprotected from any associated risk.Current state laws address issues including deepfakes and discrimination in automated hiring.“Make no mistake, the families who have come to this committee and begged for us to act won't benefit from this proposal,” said Democratic Rep.
Lori Trahan during a subcommittee hearing on the matter.“But you know who will? The big tech CEOs who are sitting behind Donald Trump at his inauguration."Rightfully, the cuts to Medicaid (over 10M people will lose their health care) and the tax cuts for the rich have been the story of the disastrous Republican budget bill.But I read the whole thing.And there are some hidden rats in there you need to know about.1/ A quick— Chris Murphy
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