President Donald Trump has indefinitely postponed signing an executive order aimed at regulating advanced AI models, following intense lobbying from prominent tech executives. The order, which had been weeks in negotiation, would have created a voluntary system for AI companies to submit their most advanced models to national security agencies for testing and vetting up to 90 days prior to release.
Tech Lobbying Effort
David Sacks, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg led a last-minute campaign to derail the executive order. Sacks, a former Trump AI advisor, called the president directly to express concerns that the voluntary vetting system could act as a de facto licensing regime, slowing innovation and potentially putting the U.S. at a disadvantage in its technological race with China. Musk and Zuckerberg also reportedly joined the effort, highlighting their opposition to federal AI regulation.
"I didn’t like certain aspects of it," Trump told reporters. "We’re leading China. We’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that."
Policy Implications
The delay leaves U.S. AI policy in limbo, with the administration facing internal divisions on the issue. While some in Trump’s base support AI regulation, the president remains aligned with Silicon Valley billionaires who champion deregulation and rapid innovation. The debate underscores the tension between national security concerns and the interests of U.S. tech companies.
The executive order was under consideration following the debut of Anthropic’s Mythos model, which has been voluntarily limited due to its unprecedented cyber capabilities. Despite initial support from Anthropic and OpenAI, the lobbying effort by tech executives has effectively stalled the initiative.