What Trump’s switch on AI order says about WH divides over tech policy

Link copied by Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro - 05/22/26 5:36 PM ET Link copied {beacon} President Trump’s abrupt decision to pull an executive order on artificial intelligence testing has exposed a deeper divide in the White House over how to oversee the technology’s development without stopping its growth. © Illustration / Samantha Wong; Greg Nash; and Adobe Stock After ushering tech leaders to the White House for a signing ceremony Thursday, Trump’s 11th-hour decision to scrap the order displayed his administration’s struggle to land on a unified AI stance as Silicon Valley holds sway at the top. Trump told reporters Thursday he “didn’t like certain aspects” of the order, expressing concerns over how it could hinder the U.S. in its race with China to dominate AI development. The president reportedly reversed course after speaking with industry leaders, including former White House AI and cryptocurrency czar, David Sacks, who favors a more hands-off approach. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also reportedly spoke with the president on Thursday. “I think [the executive order] gets in the way of …we’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s gonna get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters. “I really thought it could’ve been a blocker.” Earlier Thursday morning, the invited technology companies received notice it was postponed just hours before the ceremony was set to take place, sources familiar told The Hill. According to a draft of the order obtained by The Hill, the directive would have laid out a process for AI companies to volunteer their models for government testing for a period of up to 90 days ahead of public release. The draft order emphasized the testing was not mandatory, but these assurances were not enough for some in the tech world. “Despite it being a ‘voluntary’ process, what is to say it stays that way?” a former Trump White House official granted anonymity to speak freely told The Hill on Friday. Read more in a full report this weekend at TheHill.com Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we’re Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: Comer launches investigation into prediction markets insider trading House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) launched an investigation Friday into prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket to determine whether their users are using nonpublic or classified information to engage in insider trading. Comer sent letters to Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan on Friday seeking details and internal records showing how the platforms verify … Pentagon releases new batch of UFO files (NewsNation) — The Pentagon on Friday released another batch of UFO files following an initial drop that included never-before-seen documents related to incidents already public. The second drop includes over 40 videos requested by lawmakers, along with a few files and some audio from NASA missions. The files are being released on a rolling basis at war.gov/UFO following President Trump’s promise to declassify certain … States ask court to break up Live Nation, Ticketmaster A group of more than 30 state attorneys general asked a court Thursday to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, after a jury found last month that the ticketing giants held an illegal monopoly in the live entertainment industry. The states are seeking an order that would require Live Nation to divest Ticketmaster, in addition to pushing for the divestment of a “sufficient number” of large amphitheaters that are owned by the … The Trump administration expands its use of AI in the hunt for healthcare fraud NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced it is supercharging its use of artificial intelligence to police how states and other recipients of federal health dollars are auditing their programs. The move is intended to tamp down risks of fraud and save the government money. The department will use ChatGPT and other AI tools to analyze audit reports from all 50 states on an ongoing … News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: Branch out with other reads on The Hill: Waymo temporarily suspends all freeway rides (KRON) — Waymo has temporarily paused its freeway operations as the company works to improve how its autonomous vehicles navigate certain construction zones. “Safety is Waymo’s top priority, both for our riders and everyone we share the road with. We have temporarily paused freeway operations, as we work to integrate recent technical learnings into our software and expect to resume these routes soon,” a Waymo spokesperson … Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc.

What Trump’s switch on AI order says about WH divides over tech policy

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What Trump’s switch on AI order says about WH divides over tech policy

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