After President Donald Trump signed an executive order limiting states’ ability to regulate artificial intelligence, Utah’s elected officials are assessing how to push back, state Rep. Doug Fiefia said.
“This is too important to just not pass any regulation or policy around AI,” Fiefia, a Republican from Herriman, said in an interview this week. “You will see a concerted effort to make sure that we can continue to protect our citizens in Utah.”
But what form that pushback may take, Fiefia said, is still an open question, as lawmakers and leaders from the state’s office of AI policy, the governor’s office, the attorney general’s office and members of Utah’s congressional delegation have been meeting to discuss the impact on the state.
“Utah has been recognized as a state that has been leading in AI policy and regulation, but has done it in a thoughtful and targeted approach,” Fiefia, who previously worked for Google, said. He was concerned, he added, that Utah’s work could be hindered by the order.
“We fear that we can’t be a leader to the rest of the nation on what type of policy should be passed, because it ties our hands completely,” he said.
Trump signed the executive order last Thursday. It grants authority to the U.S. attorney general to challenge state laws that do not support the “United States’ global A.I. dominance,” and allows the federal government to withhold funds from states if they do not comply.
U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, Utah’s only member of congressional leadership, will “continue to voice the need for Congress to deliberate on and pass legislation that allows states to regulate AI,” he said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday. Moore represents Utah’s 1st Congressional District and said he supported state lawmakers’ efforts to oppose Trump’s order.
“However,” Moore said, “I appreciate the EO’s carve-outs for child safety and protections, demonstrating Utah’s critical leadership in this space.”
The other members of Utah’s all-GOP federal delegation — including U.S. Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis and U.S. Reps. Celeste Maloy, Mike Kennedy and Burgess Owens — did not respond to a request for comment.
In the days since it was signed, concern about the order has come from some of the highest levels of leadership in Utah, as Republican Gov. Spencer Cox was among those quick to push back.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during the 2025 AI Summit at Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
“An alternative AI executive order focused on human flourishing would strike the balance we need: safeguard our kids, preserve our values, and strengthen American competitiveness,” he wrote on X last week. “States must help protect children and families while America accelerates its leadership in AI.”
During a sitdown earlier this month with The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, Cox said AI initiatives and regulations, including training students to use AI tools “the right ways” and investing in tools for government efficiency, were among his priorities in the upcoming year.
“Hopefully we have the federal government who will allow states to play a role there,” Cox said of AI regulations at the time. “We’d love Congress to do it, but they don’t seem to be interested in governing, so we’ll leave it up to the states, and we’re pushing really hard.”
State Rep. Paul Cutler (R-Centerville), who has been involved in the state’s “pro-human” AI efforts, echoed the governor’s comments Thursday, writing on X, “It’s not a binary choice between child safety and AI. We can absolutely protect children/families AND support innovative AI development. States are leading the way on this now, we just need our friends in DC to get on board.”
This is not the first time that AI regulations have exposed an party rift between Utah’s local elected officials and Republican leaders in Washington: Earlier this year, a similar ban on state AI regulations was included in a draft of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the Trump-backed budget legislation. The proposal attracted significant outcry among Utah’s elected officials, and Fiefia went to Washington to lobby against its inclusion in the final bill.
The provision was ultimately removed — though the order Trump signed last week was nearly identical, with the exception of a carve-out for legislation related to child safety.
Fiefia said the carve-out is “appreciated,” but that some laws currently on Utah’s books could still be at risk, including one passed during the last session that aimed to regulate mental health AI chatbots.
State legislative leaders did not respond to a request for comment, though state Sen. Kirk Cullimore — who serves as Senate Majority Leader and sponsored the mental health chatbots bill — told Utah News Dispatch this week that he thinks the order will still allow Utah lawmakers to protect consumers.
“I think [Trump is] looking more at California, Colorado, New York, who are looking to regulate the models of AI, which can stifle the entrepreneurship, stifle the innovation,” Cullimore said. “And, they’re imposing values that don’t necessarily represent all Americans on these regulations, on the baseline models of AI.”
California lawmakers, as Cullimore noted, have passed some of the most stringent AI regulations in the country, including a bill signed into law in September that requires AI companies to run safety tests and disclose the results.
As for Fiefia, the lawmaker said he supports a national framework for AI regulations, but that he feels that framework needs to come through Congress, not an executive order.
“I think there should be a partnership between the federal government and the state government,” he said. “We are close to the ground, we are able to adapt and move quickly and see what’s happening with companies, with individuals, and really have the ability to shift as fast as possible when it comes to technology.”