On March 20, the White House released its National Framework for Artificial Intelligence, an update of its previous Executive Orders on AI urging Congress to establish a single, “minimally burdensome” national standard for AI regulation that would override most state AI laws the administration views as barriers to innovation. Although not focused on health care specifically, the plan blends the Trump administration’s priorities—such as addressing perceived political bias in AI models and reducing regulatory hurdles—with targeted protections for children, including age-gating requirements, parental controls, and preserving state laws that ban AI-generated abusive material. It also calls for expanded AI workforce training, data collection on AI-related job disruption, and codification of Trump’s pledge requiring major tech companies to supply or pay for the electricity used by their data centers.
Although intended to promote a national and uniform approach that avoids regulatory fragmentation, the framework also affirms that federal policy should not displace areas of traditional state authority. This includes state laws aimed at protecting children, preventing fraud, and safeguarding consumers. Regulation of the practice of medicine and other related aspects of health care have long been treated as a core area of consumer protection reserved to the states. Finding a balance between federal and state authority will be central to future law and policy addressing the growing use of AI in health care.
Elements of the Administration’s framework are already reflected in draft legislation from Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act, which would implement a light-touch federal AI regime, broadly preempt state AI laws governing model development and downstream use, and avoid creating new federal AI regulators, while maintaining a focus on child safety and U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence. In addition, House Republicans have acknowledged their commitment to implementing the framework in Congress.
Although this bill is unlikely to gain bipartisan support as is, there has historically been interest from Congress in identifying bipartisan solutions to AI regulation, most recently, the focus on protections for children and mental health.
