President Trump Is Leading on AI. Congress Must Catch Up

President Trump knows that America must win the race for artificial intelligence (AI). Thanks to his leadership, this administration is advancing an AI Action Plan to slash regulatory red tape and enhance America’s standing as the world front-runner of the most transformative technology of our time. He can’t do it alone. Congress must step up and legislate to build the future of American technology.

In a landmark speech this week, President Trump outlined plans to ensure the next AI innovations are born and grow in the United States. Our American success for over a century reflects an innovation culture and willingness of government to allow and even embrace technologies challenging status quo industries. That spirit aligns naturally with President Trump’s vision and willingness to do things differently. Just as American innovators invented the Model T and a new era of mobility, an electrical grid powering modern commerce, and generations of communication technology from the first telephone to smartphones, the Trump administration is seizing an opportunity to lead the way in AI.

New AI tools and platforms solve big global problems and improve millions of lives. While splashy headlines focus on what AI could do, we’re already seeing the wonders of this technology in action. At CES, we see AI-powered digital twin simulations for smart factories, city development, and climate forecasting. Breakthroughs in health AI offer life-saving treatments and powerful new drug discovery. AI chips in consumer technology are improving computing, visual, and audio for the devices we use daily and ushering in the quantum future. Soon, AI may even help us “talk” to our pets!

In advancing this AI Action Plan, President Trump shows his willingness to meet the moment. Policies that make it easier to develop and deploy new AI technologies, promote global AI partnerships and leadership on international standards, provide the abundant energy AI tools demand, and expand global access to U.S.-developed AI tools – all support an American-led AI future.

At the same time, we need to stop hamstringing our innovators at home. That starts with action to prevent bad AI laws. Across the United States, state legislators have introduced more than 1000 AI bills in the first half of 2025 alone. While the House passed a ten-year moratorium on state AI laws as part of the Big Beautiful Bill, the language ended up on the cutting room floor of the Senate. That leaves AI innovators scrambling under the weight of conflicting and confusing regulation, hurting AI growth right when we need it most.

More, if we want AI to reflect human knowledge, we must let it learn from publicly available data like books, websites, code, and art. This isn’t copyright infringement any more than reading books and writing something new is. It’s learning, and the textbook definition of fair use. Innovation depends on access to ideas, and America must defend the open web and let AI models train freely to power what’s next.

We know what happens when AI regulation goes off the rails. In the EU, regulations create a series of hurdles in the name of privacy and data protection that make it nearly impossible for innovation to thrive. That’s one reason European growth has stagnated, despite the incredible pan-European innovation we see each year at CES.

American companies lead the pack in generative AI and other cutting-edge technologies, but we can’t rest on our laurels. The Chinese government spends billions to promote AI champions and achieve civil and military AI dominance. The U.S. must act to protect citizens and advance AI innovation or we will be left behind.

The president and his administration, including Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios and AI czar David Sacks, have now created a runway and a roadmap for AI expansion. Congress should seize on this week’s announcements as an opportunity for action. If they don’t, we risk American AI leadership – and our American future.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.