Even as it faces criticism for prioritizing immigration enforcement at the expense of other law enforcement priorities, Donald Trump’s Department of Justice moved last week to redirect resources toward yet another cause that seemingly no voter — outside of his rich Silicon Valley donors — has asked for.
The DOJ this month launched a “task force” to fight states that attempt to regulate artificial intelligence companies, CBS News reported Friday, citing an internal memo, which hasn’t been reviewed by MS NOW.
The memo cites Trump’s much-criticized executive order that seeks to ban state regulation of AI, which Trump issued after multiple failed attempts to get such a ban passed through Congress. CBS reported that, according to the memo, the task force will be led by Attorney General Pam Bondi (or another “appointee”) and consist “of representatives from the offices of the Deputy and Associate Attorney General, the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the Solicitor General’s office” — with consultation from Trump’s crypto and AI czar, David Sacks.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser told MS NOW, “Without congressional action, there is no free-standing authority for the President to challenge state AI laws or punish states for adopting laws he doesn’t like.” He added that “if this administration seeks to punish Colorado by withdrawing funds or otherwise undermine our ability to protect kids from AI chatbots, take action against scammers using AI, or address other important concerns, I will protect Colorado and challenge such efforts in court.”
The DOJ did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment. The effort would be the latest in the administration’s trend of leveraging the apparatus of the state for the benefit of Big Tech. At the start of his second term, the president essentially gave his biggest campaign donor, Elon Musk, carte blanche to gut federal agencies he didn’t like, including some that were investigating his companies); Trump openly admitted that Big Tech executives dissuaded him from unleashing the National Guard into San Francisco last year; and now his administration is spending Americans’ tax dollars to oppose states that try protect their residents from the risks that AI companies pose.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. 
