Trump Halts AI Executive Order, Citing Risks to U.S. Competitive Edge

President Donald Trump cancelled a planned May 21, 2026 signing ceremony for a new executive order on artificial intelligence. He told reporters in the Oval Office that he “didn’t like certain aspects” of the draft and feared it could “get in the way” of the United States’ lead over China.

The order was expected to create a voluntary framework allowing federal agencies – including the Office of the National Cyber Director, the Treasury, the NSA and CISA – to review advanced AI models up to 90 days before public release. The goal was to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities, spurred by concerns over powerful frontier models such as Anthropic’s Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT‑5.5‑Cyber.

Internal pressure from both the MAGA base (e.g., Steve Bannon, Amy Kremer) and senior tech leaders (Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, David Sacks) influenced the decision, with industry executives reportedly lobbying Trump the night before the ceremony. No rescheduled date was announced, and officials said the order may be revised before a future signing.