Washington is finally waking up to a simple truth: our federal government is running on software older than most Americans. Veterans wait months for benefits because the Department of Veterans Affairs is still using systems designed in the 1960s. Small businesses were left hanging during the COVID crisis because the SBA’s loan portal buckled under the weight of modern demand. It’s not just embarrassing—it’s dangerous.
President Trump and Congress are now trying to do something smart for once in the tech space: inject $500 million into upgrading federal systems using commercial artificial intelligence tools. Let Silicon Valley do what it does best—build technology that actually works—and apply that power to streamline government services, cut waste, and increase efficiency. That’s the kind of common-sense policy that puts America First.
But here’s the problem: progressive state governments are stepping in to sabotage it. Over 400 AI-related bills are active in state legislatures this year, many designed not to encourage innovation, but to strangle it with red tape. These laws, pushed by left-wing activists and bureaucrats who don’t understand—or don’t care about—how tech actually works, are threatening to derail critical federal modernization efforts.
Take California—of course. The same state that can’t keep its lights on or its streets clean is now trying to dictate how federal agencies use AI. Their rules would force federal contractors to comply with overlapping, contradictory state-level mandates before they can even start helping the government. That means delays, lawsuits, and sky-high compliance costs. In other words, Biden-style government dysfunction creeping back in through the courts and statehouses.
Let’s be clear about what’s really going on. This is not about “protecting consumers” or “ensuring ethics”—those are just buzzwords. This is about control. Blue states want to be gatekeepers of emerging technology, and they’re willing to sabotage national progress to do it. These are the same people who can’t manage a DMV line but think they should regulate the future of artificial intelligence.
The Trump administration is right to push back. Federal agencies are not arms of Sacramento or Albany. If the Department of Veterans Affairs wants to use cutting-edge AI to help our heroes get their benefits faster, no state government should be allowed to stand in the way. As Justice Scalia once said, “The fragmentation of authority over a single subject among multiple jurisdictions is the very definition of dysfunction.” That’s what we’re seeing here.
The stakes are enormous. AI isn’t just about convenience—it’s about national competitiveness, security, and sovereignty. China is pouring billions into AI and doesn’t care about state-by-state regulations. If we let our own innovation get tied up in bureaucratic knots, we’re handing the future to Beijing on a silver platter.
Trump’s America First agenda includes revitalizing our institutions, modernizing our government, and unleashing American innovation. That’s exactly what this federal AI program is trying to do. But if red-state lawmakers don’t fight back against these state-level regulatory overreaches, and if conservatives don’t make their voices heard, we risk watching this opportunity slip away.
It’s time for Congress to step up and assert federal preemption where it’s warranted. When it comes to federal systems and national technology strategy, we can’t allow 50 different governors to act like tech czars. Conservatives believe in federalism, yes—but we also believe in functional government and national unity. If state laws are undermining core federal functions, they must be checked.
This is not about expanding federal power—it’s about defending federal responsibility. It’s about ensuring that our veterans, small businesses, and taxpayers aren’t held hostage to the whims of Gavin Newsom or Kathy Hochul. President Trump is doing his part. Now it’s up to the rest of us to ensure that America doesn’t let its future get tangled in the weeds of state-level nonsense.
