Trump postpones signing artificial intelligence order out of concern it would hurt the AI industry
President Donald Trump called off a signing ceremony Thursday for a new order on artificial intelligence because he worried it could dull America's edge on AI technology.
May 21, 2026
Trump postpones signing artificial intelligence order out of concern it would hurt the AI industry
by COLLIN BINKLEY and MATT O'BRIEN
edited by Andrew Zinin
Andrew Zinin
Lead Editor
Editors' notes
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
fact-checked
reputable news agency
proofread
The GIST
Add as preferred source
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
President Donald Trump called off a signing ceremony Thursday for a new order on artificial intelligence because he worried it could dull America's edge on AI technology.
Trump said he was postponing the signing because he did not like what he saw in the order's text. He announced the change hours before the event was scheduled to take place in the Oval Office.
"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 told reporters at an unrelated Oval Office event.
The push for some kind of government action to vet the most powerful AI systems follows growing concern within the banking industry and other institutions about the leaps in AI's abilities to find cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the world's software.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened an urgent meeting with Wall Street CEOs in April, warning them about the cybersecurity risks posed by Anthropic's AI model, Claude Mythos.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The meeting, urgently assembled at the Treasury Department's headquarters, was intended to ensure that banks were aware of the risks associated with the models, Bessent said at CNBC's "Invest in America Forum" in Washington in April. "This new Anthropic model is very powerful," he said. "Some banks are doing a better job in cybersecurity than others, and we want to have the ability to convene them and talk about what is best practices and where they should be heading."
That led some allies of the Republican president to propose better methods for getting those AI tools in the hands of trusted cybersecurity experts.
But an approach that could be perceived as government screening of commercial AI models would have signaled a significant shift in Trump's pledges coming into his second White House term to undo the AI safety regulations set by Democratic President Joe Biden.
Key concepts
AI governanceAI regulation
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Citation: Trump postpones signing artificial intelligence order out of concern it would hurt the AI industry (2026, May 21) retrieved 22 May 2026 from https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-trump-postpones-artificial-intelligence-ai.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Explore further
OpenAI announces restricted-access cybersecurity model
3 shares
Feedback to editors