Scoop: White House, Hill relaunch effort to block state AI laws

The White House is negotiating a federal preemption of some state AI laws in exchange for its support of key tech policy priorities from the Hill, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: States are increasingly passing stronger AI laws and the Trump administration is feeling the heat to get something done.

• The talks are aiming to pair one of the tech industry's top priorities — overriding state AI laws — with legislation aimed at protecting kids online and combating deepfakes.

Behind the scenes: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is leading the negotiations, per a spokesperson, which include the Kids Online Safety Act and other tech-related measures.

• "Senator Blackburn is spearheading the negotiation with the White House to finalize legislative text of an AI preemption package that includes protections for kids, creators, and communities through the Senate version of KOSA, the NO FAKES Act, and age verification requirements," a Blackburn spokesperson said.
• The spokesperson said that the package is not "blanket pre-emption of all laws regulating AI or child safety."
• "The White House continues to proactively engage across government and industry," a White House official said.

The big picture: The maneuvering between Congress and the White House shows that a bipartisan proposal from Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) isn't the likely vehicle for AI policy in this Congress.

• That bill would preempt state AI laws for three years, formally establish the Center for AI Standards and Innovation and require certain developers to address risks prior to releasing models.

Catch up quick: The last time the Trump administration tried to preempt the states, Republicans were inundated with pushback from advocacy groups and state lawmakers across the country.

• Blackburn's support, which the White House did not previously have, would be key for passage.
• The Obernolte-Trahan bill was also met with pushback from groups saying states should be free to regulate.

Zoom out: Two sources told Axios the White House is also holding a meeting this week with AI companies to dig into what benchmarking should look like for the recent AI and cyber executive order.

The revival of the preemption fight comes on the heels of Trump signing an AI and cyber executive order last week that includes voluntary pre-deployment testing of frontier models.

The bottom line: This flurry of AI action will ultimately be hard to pull off as August recess in an election year nears.