Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Trump administration The company is navigating an infighting as officials try to figure out whether they can revive an executive order on regulating artificial intelligence that President Donald Trump abruptly rescinded last month, according to several people familiar with the matter.
The talks that took place in the weeks that followed were widely viewed as chaotic, by both major Silicon Valley players and administration officials. Some AI executives told WIRED privately that they were unsure what the revised executive order would require, or whether it would be signed at all.
On May 21, Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony for the order just hours before it was scheduled to take place. He told reporters at the time that this could stifle competition domestically and reduce the advantage the United States currently holds over China in the AI race.
The most controversial section of the rescinded executive order was a provision creating a voluntary framework in which AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google would give the White House early access to AI models before their public release to evaluate cybersecurity capabilities.
At its core, the push for regulation reflects a recognition within the White House that AI is rapidly becoming a national security concern, given the capabilities of Anthropic’s Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 models, which Excel at finding vulnerabilities in legacy software systems. These efforts signal a change in attitude from the administration, which initially avoided attempts to regulate AI.
The draft executive order also suggested that AI labs could submit models 90 days before public release, though several AI executives told WIRED that their companies may not be ready to share models so early. Some AI leaders and assistants hope the executive order will return in a revised form, keeping some of its less controversial provisions.
The administration’s ability to revive an executive order related to artificial intelligence now depends largely on the ability of senior White House officials to rally rival factions, according to aides across multiple agencies involved in the process.
Aides say White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has taken charge of a group of senior officials demanding a revival of the executive order, which also includes Treasury Secretary Scott Besent and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, a former Republican political operative.
Bessent has emerged as a prominent force in the administration regarding AI policy. In recent weeks, he met Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Aides say they are working with other AI executives to forge a way forward. He is expected to take a leadership role in negotiating cross-border AI regulation with China.
Trump’s influential former AI czar David Sachs stands in opposition to Wells. Sachs reportedly told Trump that the executive order would be too burdensome He appealed successfully He may cancel the signing hours before it is scheduled to take place. Politico I mentioned earlier Saxe-Wales dynamic.
In a mail Last week, Sachs wrote: “President Trump recognizes that unnecessary regulation is the biggest threat to innovation in America. Winning the AI race means not only beating China, but also removing bureaucratic hurdles that state legislatures have imposed and woke up politicians in D.C.”
But perhaps the biggest obstacle to bringing regulation back to the table is Trump himself, aides say. “Resolving the infighting only matters if it leads to Trump’s approval,” one administration official said, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive deliberations.
White House spokeswoman Liz Houston said in a statement that the administration is trying to figure out how best to balance regulation of artificial intelligence. “The president’s team is united in implementing his bold agenda and maintaining this critical balance,” Houston says.
