Trump paused – A draft AI executive order prepared for Donald Trump’s Thursday signing would have set a voluntary review process for advanced AI models submitted to federal agencies up to 90 days before release. Trump halted the ceremony, saying he “didn’t like certain aspec
For weeks, tech executives were being pulled into a plan to rein in the risk from advanced AI—then, Thursday afternoon, the signing didn’t happen.
A draft executive order on artificial intelligence that President Donald Trump had been expected to sign was supposed to be finalized after the administration briefly briefed major tech companies this week and invited top AI industry executives to attend a Thursday ceremony at the White House. Instead, the event was abruptly postponed.
The draft. obtained by POLITICO. was designed to address worries that advanced AI products—such as those from companies like Anthropic—could enable devastating cyberattacks and other harm if they end up in the wrong hands. It would have created a voluntary oversight system: developers of advanced AI models could submit their products for review by federal agencies as much as 90 days before releasing them.
Even the draft’s language tried to calm fears about government control. One seven-page section emphasizes that the review process would not become a licensing regime. It 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.”.
But the reassurance didn’t fully land. Former Trump AI czar David Sacks raised concerns that the voluntary reviews might one day be made mandatory. A senior White House official told POLITICO on Thursday that those concerns were still being considered.
The draft also spells out enforcement for criminal misuse. It directs the attorney general to enforce the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and “other applicable Federal criminal laws against anyone who utilizes AI to illegally access or damage a computer without authorization. or who utilizes AI while engaged in such illegal access to further any other crime.”.
In the last moment, Trump pushed pause anyway. When asked about the stalled signing, he told reporters, “I didn’t like certain aspects of it,” adding that he was worried the order might slow U.S. efforts to beat China in the race to dominate AI.
The administration has not said what changes might be made to the order or when the signing might be rescheduled.
The sequence leaves businesses and regulators in an uncomfortable in-between: the draft lays out a concrete timeline for voluntary reviews and a specific legal pathway for punishing AI-fueled cyber abuse. yet the president’s stated concern focuses on speed. With no revised text or new date announced. the question now is whether the administration will adjust the balance between caution and competitiveness—or abandon key pieces altogether.
Donald Trump AI executive order artificial intelligence regulation voluntary oversight system federal review Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Anthropic David Sacks China AI race White House