Executive Order 14365: what it does to state AI laws, and what it cannot do

In short: Executive Order 14365 of December 11, 2025 tells federal agencies to challenge state AI laws in court, list the ones the administration considers onerous, and tie some federal funding to them. It does not repeal or preempt a single state law by itself, so every state AI law that applies to you on January 1 still applies. The order changes your litigation calendar, not your compliance obligations.^1,2

On December 11, 2025 the President signed Executive Order 14365, “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” It describes state-by-state AI rules as a “patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes” and sets a policy of a “minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI.”¹ Headlines called it a federal takeover of AI rules. The text is narrower, and the difference matters for anyone deciding what to comply with in 2026. This briefing is educational, not legal advice.