On December 11, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the DOJ to establish an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws in court, requiring the Commerce Department to assess conflicting state laws within 90 days, and conditioning access to certain federal grant funds (including BEAD non-deployment funds) on states refraining from "onerous" AI regulation. The order also instructs the FCC and FTC to pursue federal standards that could preempt state laws, and calls for a legislative proposal for a uniform federal AI regime, though no deadline or scope is specified for the latter. Latham & Watkins assesses the order's near-term impact as limited: states are unlikely to repeal existing laws voluntarily, legal challenges face significant constitutional hurdles (dormant Commerce Clause, Spending Clause, agency authority limits), and litigation will unfold over years. For financial institutions, the practical implication is that the patchwork of state AI compliance obligations, particularly in California, Colorado, and Texas, remains operative in the near term, and compliance programs should not be restructured in anticipation of rapid federal preemption.
268 other tracked developments touching the same claims.