Trump abruptly scraps signing of landmark executive order regulating AI

BREAKING NEWSMay. 21, 2026, 5:27 PM UTCArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceTrump scraps signing of landmark executive order regulating AIPresident Donald Trump scrapped an executive order signing Thursday. The order is expected to lay out partnerships with leading AI companies to vet cutting-edge models.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday.,Kent Nishimura / AFP via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Jared Perlo and Monica AlbaPresident Trump abruptly delayed the signing of a landmark executive order on AI Thursday afternoon, telling reporters that he had pulled the order at the last minute because it could interfere with American competitiveness on AI.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump, answering reporters’ questions in the Oval Office during an unrelated event, said about America’s AI industry. “I really thought [the order] could have been a blocker.”The order, reportedly in development for weeks, was expected to direct federal agencies to shore up key cybersecurity defenses and work with the world’s leading AI companies on a voluntary basis to test advanced models before they are public, according to two people familiar with the draft.The order’s planned debut came less than two months after AI company Anthropic’s Mythos Preview model demonstrated the novel ability to autonomously discover thousands of severe and critical cyber vulnerabilities, including in leading operating systems and web browsers. Vice President JD Vance said in a press conference on Wednesday that the administration was prioritizing “protecting people’s data” and “people’s privacy” in the wake of Mythos’ debut. A “bad actor could use Mythos to target various cybersecurity vulnerabilities,” he said.“Right now, we’re w...