Trump AI order sparks pushback from Illinois and Colorado leaders

Summary

State officials in Illinois and Colorado are openly defying President Trump’s new executive order that seeks to block or pre‑empt state laws regulating artificial intelligence. In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office and leading lawmakers blasted the order as a "blatant federal overreach," vowing to defend a suite of state AI rules that cover mental‑health counseling, employment screening, community college instruction and deepfake child pornography. ([capitolnewsillinois.com](https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/illinois-leaders-wont-back-down-following-trumps-order-limiting-ai-regulation/)) Colorado Senator Michael Bennet issued his own statement calling the order a "dangerous overreach" that weakens states’ ability to protect children and consumers, and urged Congress to pass bipartisan national legislation instead of undermining local safeguards. ([bennet.senate.gov](https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2025/12/16/bennet-statement-on-president-trumps-executive-order-blocking-state-level-ai-laws/)) The executive order instructs the attorney general to create an AI Litigation Task Force to sue states whose laws it deems inconsistent with a national AI‑dominance agenda, and even raises the prospect of withholding rural broadband funds from jurisdictions with "onerous" AI rules. Together with Florida’s new classroom restrictions, the backlash underscores an emerging constitutional fight over who ultimately sets the ground rules for AI: Washington, or the states experimenting with more aggressive protections.