Federal AI Preemption Negotiations Target State Regulation Gaps

The White House is in talks with Senate leaders to secure federal preemption of selected state AI regulations. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is leading the effort, according to her spokesperson. The draft package would pair preemption with technology policies aimed at child safety, creator protections, and deep-fake deterrence. Provisions are slated to flow through the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act and the No Fakes Act, and would also impose age-verification requirements for online platforms.

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Efforts to codify federal preemption of state AI rules have stalled for more than a year, after both chambers rejected similar measures last session. The White House has pursued a limited “subject-matter” approach rather than a sweeping ban on state regulation. A bipartisan House draft released by Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) proposes overriding state rules that govern AI model development for a three-year period, while leaving use-stage regulations untouched.

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• Sen. Marsha Blackburn – Senate sponsor and primary negotiator.

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• Blackburn’s spokesperson – Provides details on the package’s scope.

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• White House – Seeks a limited preemption framework; has not issued a comment.

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• Reps. Jay Obernolte & Lori Trahan – Authors of the House AI framework.

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• AI safety advocacy groups – Voice concerns about the adequacy of proposed safeguards.

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• 2023 (earlier) – Federal preemption attempts fail in both Senate and House.

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• Recent weeks – Axios reports that negotiations are underway; bipartisan House draft released.

• Current – Senate negotiations continue as the congressional calendar tightens.

• The House draft targets a three-year preemption window for AI model-development regulations.

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• Age-verification requirements are included, though specific thresholds are not disclosed.

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A uniform federal framework could reduce regulatory fragmentation across the 50 states, offering consistent standards for AI safety, child protection, and deep-fake mitigation. By limiting state-level rules only to subjects covered by the federal package, the proposal seeks to balance innovation with targeted safeguards for “kids, creators, and communities.”

The Hill

Blackburn’s spokesperson described the initiative as “subject-matter preemption,” emphasizing that it would not constitute a “blanket preemption of all laws regulating AI or kids safety.” The spokesperson also highlighted the inclusion of “protections for kids, creators, and communities.” The White House has declined to comment on the specifics. Lawmakers note that intraparty debates and a lack of alignment between the Senate and House are slowing progress, and that time is running out in the current Congress.

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AI safety advocates have voiced “fierce pushback,” arguing that a limited preemption could leave critical safeguards at the state level. Partisan disagreements within both parties further impede consensus on the package’s language and scope.

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The full text of the proposed preemption package has not been released, leaving unclear which state statutes would be superseded. Additionally, the timeline for reconciling Senate and House versions remains uncertain, and no official position from the White House has been published.

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• “spearheading” — Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s spokesperson

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• “protections for kids, creators, and communities.” — Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s spokesperson

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• “subject-matter preemption,” — Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s spokesperson

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• “blanket preemption of all laws regulating AI or kids safety.” — Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s spokesperson

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Negotiators must finalize the package before the congressional deadline and bridge differences between the Senate and House drafts. If incorporated into the Kids Online Safety Act and No Fakes Act, the measures could set the first federal baseline for AI regulation, pending further debate from lawmakers and AI-safety stakeholders.

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