Securing American leadership on artificial intelligence (AI) is a top priority for the Trump Administration. Although changes brought by the Trump Administration are certain to result in regulatory changes across the federal government with respect to AI, there are also critical throughlines that businesses need to be aware of as they implement their AI strategies. This article is a guide to the major initiatives and trendlines we have observed so far.

Recission of President Biden’s Omnibus AI Executive Order

In one of his first acts as President on January 20, Trump rescinded President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence from October 30, 2023. The October Order contained a wide range of directives pertaining to AI safety and security, privacy, consumer protection, and competition.

A few days later, on January 23, President Trump issued his own AI Executive Order on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. In it, he established that his Administration’s AI Policy would be to “sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”

Trump accordingly directed the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (Michael Kratsios), his new Special Advisor for AI and Crypto (David Sacks), and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (Mike Waltz), in coordination with other agency heads, to do two things consistent with this policy:

• First, Trump instructed them to develop an AI Action Plan within 180 days, laying out plans to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance. Consistent with this directive, the Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a request for information, soliciting feedback on “any AI policy topic.” Nearly 9,000 comments were received.
• Second, Trump directed them to review “all policies, directives, regulations, orders, and other actions” taken pursuant to the rescinded October Order that are inconsistent with the Order’s Policy and to immediately “suspend, revise, or rescind such actions.”

On that same day, President Trump reestablished the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST Council) to “spearhead American innovation and competitiveness in critical and emerging technologies.”

At first blush, President Trump’s early actions might suggest that the new Administration is prepared to take a fundamentally new approach on AI—one that deemphasizes regulations pertaining to AI safety in service of accelerated AI innovation.

National Security

Certain significant directives that arose from the October Order remain in effect. Most obviously, President Trump has not yet rescinded the first-ever National Security Memorandum on Artificial Intelligence, which directed federal agencies to move expeditiously “to harness cutting-edge AI technologies” to advance the U.S. government’s national security mission. Specifically, it directed changes to accelerate the acquisition and procurement process for AI.

We also continue to monitor changes in exports controls related to AI. As described in a separate WilmerHale Client Alert, we are monitoring the implementation of the Department of Commerce’s new “Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion.”

Energy Infrastructure

Meanwhile, Trump has sustained major Biden initiatives on AI related to new energy infrastructure, emphasizing the need for AI infrastructure, including data centers, built in the United States.

On his second day in office, President Trump announced a new joint venture, Stargate, with the stated goal of investing $500 billion to build “the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of advancements in AI.”

Standards Development

One of the most consequential initiatives from the October Order was its invocation of the Defense Production Act to facilitate the collection of certain information by the Commerce Department from private companies developing AI technologies. While the Department of Commerce issued a Proposed Rule to establish regular reporting requirements, the Trump Administration has yet to seek to finalize the Rule.

Major AI players that submitted feedback to the AI Action Plan have called on the Trump Administration to sustain the federal government’s role in AI regulation rather than letting state governments develop divergent requirements, which could complicate compliance.