This is the first in a new series of Covington blogs on the AI policies, executive orders, and other actions of the new Trump Administration.  This blog describes key actions on AI taken by the Trump Administration in January 2025.

Outgoing President Biden Issues Executive Order and Data Center Guidance for AI Infrastructure

Before turning to the Trump Administration, we note one key AI development from the final weeks of the Biden Administration.  On January 14, in one of his final acts in office, President Biden issued Executive Order 14141 on “Advancing United States Leadership in AI Infrastructure.”  This EO, which remains in force, sets out requirements and deadlines for the construction and operation of “frontier AI infrastructure,” including data centers and clean energy facilities, by private-sector entities on federal land.  Specifically, EO 14141 directs the Departments of Defense (“DOD”) and Energy (“DOE”) to lease federal lands for the construction and operation of AI data centers and clean energy facilities by the end of 2027, establishes solicitation and lease application processes for private sector applicants, directs federal agencies to take various steps to streamline and consolidate environmental permitting for AI infrastructure, and directs the DOE to take steps to update the U.S. electricity grid to meet the growing energy demands of AI. 

The results of the 2024 U.S. election are expected to have significant implications for AI legislation and regulation at both the federal and state level. 

Like the first Trump Administration, the second Trump Administration is likely to prioritize AI innovation, R&D, national security uses of AI, and U.S. private sector investment and leadership in AI.  Although recent AI model testing and reporting requirements established by the Biden Administration may be halted or revoked, efforts to promote private-sector innovation and competition with China are expected to continue.  And while antitrust enforcement involving large technology companies may continue in the Trump Administration, more prescriptive AI rulemaking efforts such as those launched by the current leadership of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) are likely to be curtailed substantially.

In the House and Senate, Republican majorities are likely to adopt priorities similar to those of the Trump Administration, with a continued focus on AI-generated deepfakes and prohibitions on the use of AI for government surveillance and content moderation. 

At the state level, legislatures in California, Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, and others likely will advance AI legislation on issues ranging from algorithmic discrimination to digital replicas and generative AI watermarking. 

This post covers the effects of the recent U.S. election on these areas and what to expect as we enter 2025.  (Click here for our summary of the 2024 election implications on AI-related industrial policy and competition with China.)

Nearly a year after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) launched the SAFE Innovation Framework for artificial intelligence (AI) with Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Todd Young (R-IN), the bipartisan group has released a 31-page “Roadmap” for AI policy.  The overarching theme of the Roadmap is “harnessing the full potential of AI while minimizing the risks of AI in the near and long term.”

In contrast to Europe’s approach to regulating AI, the Roadmap does not propose or even contemplate a comprehensive AI law.  Rather, it identifies key themes and areas of agreement and directs the relevant congressional committees of jurisdiction to legislate on key issues.  The Roadmap recommendations are informed by the nine AI Insight Forums that the bipartisan group convened over the last year.