Ohio Republican Urges Unified Opposition to Trump and GOP Efforts Blocking State AI Laws
Republicans need to be outspoken against federal efforts to block state AI laws because the issue isn’t going to “blow over,” Ohio Sen. Louis Blessing (R) said in a recent interview.
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Blessing discussed the opposition of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to President Donald Trump’s recent AI executive order (see 2512150050) and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) leading 17 Republican governors against Congress’ first attempt to pass an AI moratorium (see 2506270059).
Blessing was part of a bipartisan group of more than 200 state lawmakers in June who wrote in opposition to the moratorium. Earlier this month, he filed a bipartisan, bicameral resolution urging Congress to reject further attempts to pass a moratorium on state AI laws (see 2512180058). Rep. Christine Cockley (D) introduced the House version.
Attempts to block state AI laws aren’t “going to stop until the states collectively say, ‘We’re not having this,’” said Blessing. He said state-level Republicans are increasingly opposed to AI data centers due to their impact on constituents' utility bills. “They’re not going to look too kindly on the White House or Congress saying, ‘You can’t do that because reasons.’”
Blessing said he intends to continue pursuing legislation to regulate against data-driven algorithmic harms. He previously introduced SB-79 to regulate algorithm-powered price fixing. His bill is modeled after congressional legislation from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. Blessing said personal data can be used for other harmful algorithmic purposes, like wage control through the use of income data. “The use cases for this are many,” he said, and states shouldn’t be handing over authority “lightly.”
Reed Freeman, an ArentFox privacy attorney and former FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection staff attorney, said state lawmakers are right to question the real-world impact of Trump’s recent order. DeSantis and Randi Michel, a top tech advisor for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), recently said states are free to move forward with AI regulations, regardless of the president’s order (see 2512150050).
Courts aren’t going to side with DOJ just because Trump declared a moratorium unilaterally, said Freeman: “Congress can preempt state laws, but the president can’t. That’s constitutional law 101. There’s no basis for the president to have that kind of power.”
He said legal teams should be ready in 2026 to comply with state AI regulations for developers and deployers, who now must take reasonable steps to avoid harms through compliance obligations for testing and reporting. They must also be aware of regulations forcing companies to stop AI from making life-changing decisions without humans involved in the decisionmaking process, he said. California and Colorado have passed measures recognizing that significant AI-powered decisionmaking needs regulation, he added.
Staggered effective dates for California's automated decision-making technology rules begin Jan. 1 (see 2509230036). Colorado's AI Act will take effect June 30 (see 2508290018). In addition, the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA) comes into effect on Jan. 1, while New York’s Responsible Artificial Intelligence Safety and Education Act takes effect in January 2027. Reed said there’s a lot of focus on California, Colorado and New York, given their market size.