Trump Postpones AI Executive Order Citing Fears It 'Could Have Been A Blocker'
President Trump postponed signing a draft AI executive order that proposed a voluntary federal review of models, saying parts of the language 'could have been a blocker.'
SemaforTrump postpones signing AI and cybersecurity order
Epoch TimesTrump Postpones Executive Order on AI
CBS NewsTrump says he's postponing AI executive order "because I didn't like what I was seeing"
Daily SignalWhy Trump Delayed an Executive Order to Protect America From Cyber Threats - The Daily Signal
Overview
President Donald Trump told reporters on May 21 he postponed signing an executive order on artificial intelligence because he said its language "could have been a blocker."
The draft order would have created a voluntary framework for AI firms to engage the federal government before releasing certain models, according to descriptions of the text.
Some AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, already voluntarily submit their models to the U.S. Center for AI Standards and Innovation for safety evaluations.
The draft would ask participating developers to provide their models to the government 90 days before public release and to give pre-public access to critical infrastructure providers.
The signing ceremony scheduled for the afternoon was canceled, leaving the executive order unsigned.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a tension between U.S. competitiveness and public safety by leading with Trump’s abrupt pullback while foregrounding the draft order’s cybersecurity and pre-deployment testing details. Editorial choices—loaded verbs like “abruptly,” emphasis on Anthropic’s Mythos vulnerabilities, and prominence given to tech and government safeguards—stress caution over deregulation.