White House split over Trump AI executive order after last‑minute derailment

President Donald Trump halted an executive order that would have created a voluntary oversight system for artificial‑intelligence models, exposing a three‑way rift inside the West Wing.

One camp, led by former AI adviser David Sacks, argues for a hands‑off approach to keep U.S. firms competitive with China. A second camp, headed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and deputy Emil Michael, pushes for stricter barriers on models such as Mythos, fearing misuse by rivals. The third camp, represented by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, favours a middle path: AI companies would voluntarily give the government early visibility of new models.

White House officials say the order is postponed, not cancelled, and may be re‑worked. Industry players including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic have been consulted, while the conservative group Humans First urged mandatory review standards.