Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) became the latest Republican to break with President Donald Trump on a key issue, arguing that a recent order could not override state government authority and that it would be “unpopular with the public.”
DeSantis took to X to push back against Trump’s recently announced plan to block state-level regulations on artificial intelligence (AI). Per a Monday report in Politico, the governor has emerged as a “fierce AI skeptic” as the technology has grown in prominence, and has been pushing for his state to pass laws that will create consumer protections related to it.
DeSantis’s post came in response to an X user expressing hope that his state plans “to challenge” Trump’s impending AI executive order, which would call for a federal-level AI “rulebook.” The governor expressed skepticism that the order would amount to anything, due to the nature of state government powers, and suggested that only Congress could enact such rules.
“An executive order doesn’t/can’t preempt state legislative action,” DeSantis’s post read. “Congress could, theoretically, preempt states through legislation.”
The governor’s post went on to express further skepticism about the likelihood of Congress accomplishing such goals based on its recent efforts and the unpopularity they have with the voting public.
“The problem is that Congress hasn’t proposed any coherent regulatory scheme but instead just wanted to block states from doing anything for 10 years, which would be an AI amnesty,” the post continued. “I doubt Congress has the votes to pass this because it is so unpopular with the public.”
Over the years, DeSantis has generally been seen as a strong supporter of Trump and his agenda. Despite butting heads as the governor tried to best Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, he avoided much in the way of direct criticism of Trump and has largely continued in that vein since then.
One-time allies of the president have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of Trump, most notably including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), whose conflict with the White House spurred her to announce her resignation from Congress a year early. One former GOP Senator told a Politico editor last weekthat more Republicans will likely break with Trump once it is past the point that he can endorse primary opponents against them.
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