Trump signs narrower AI executive order

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order—a directive issued by the president—establishing a voluntary review process for certain artificial intelligence companies. The order asks these companies to voluntarily submit their new models to the government for testing and evaluation 30 days before releasing the products to the public. The directive explicitly clarifies that it does not establish any mandatory licensing or preclearance requirements for developers. As the text of the executive order states, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the creation of a mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting requirement for the development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models, including frontier models”.

The final policy reflects a compromise following pushback from Silicon Valley industry insiders. A previous draft of the executive order had proposed a voluntary review window of up to 90 days, whereas industry figures had pushed for a timeline closer to a two-week window. Trump was slated to sign the more demanding version of the order in late May, but he delayed the signing after pushback from industry figures, including venture capitalist and former White House AI czar David Sacks. The delay was driven by concerns over maintaining competitiveness against China, which serves as a key competitive benchmark for AI firms. Although Trump had planned to sign the executive order with Silicon Valley executives in attendance, he ended up signing the current version privately.

In addition to the voluntary review process for AI models, the executive order directs the Department of Justice (the US federal law enforcement agency) to prioritize enforcement against specific criminal activities. Specifically, the agency is directed to treat AI-assisted hacking and unauthorized access as high-priority enforcement areas. This directive builds on the administration’s previous policy efforts; last December, Trump signed an order directing the development of a national AI policy framework, also referred to as “one rulebook,” which was intended to preempt state AI laws.

Why it matters

The executive order establishes a voluntary review process for powerful AI models, reflecting a compromise between government oversight and industry concerns about maintaining competitiveness against China. By avoiding mandatory licensing, the policy attempts to balance national security and enforcement priorities without slowing down private-sector development.