US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to issue a national regulatory framework for AI, curbing the power of states.

"To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation. But excessive State regulation thwarts this imperative," the order read.

The order argued that state-by-state regulation by definition creates a patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes that makes compliance more challenging, particularly for start-ups, and state laws are increasingly responsible for requiring entities to embed "ideological bias" within models.

"My Administration must act with the Congress to ensure that there is a minimally burdensome national standard-- not 50 discordant State ones," the order said.

The order also calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to establish an AI Litigation Task Force, "whose sole responsibility shall be to challenge State AI laws."

States that do not comply could face funding penalties, including the loss of support from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, which aims to expand high-speed internet access, it said.

The move marks a victory for companies such as OpenAI and Google, which have been advocating against what they see as overly strict regulatory requirements.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, told Congress in May that U.S. AI development should not be slowed by regulation, warning that a state-by-state approach would create heavy burdens and significantly weaken companies' capabilities.

CNN noted that in the absence of federal legislation, some states have already passed laws to address potential AI-related risks and harms. "Critics worry the deregulation push could allow AI companies to evade accountability should their tools harm consumers," the report said.