Trump Administration Unveils AI Action Plan: Sweeping Deregulation to Secure U.S. Global AI Leadership

TradingKey - On July 23, the Trump administration released a 23-page AI Action Plan, aiming to cement America’s global leadership in artificial intelligence by dramatically loosening regulations, accelerating infrastructure development, and expanding energy capacity. The plan marks a major policy shift in the administration’s AI strategy and represents a comprehensive overhaul of the stricter regulatory framework established under the Biden administration.

Led by White House AI Czar David Sacks and shaped over months of consultations with tech companies and industry leaders, the plan is built on three core pillars: accelerating AI innovation, building domestic AI infrastructure, and establishing U.S. technology as the global standard.

To speed up the construction of critical AI infrastructure such as data centers, the government will reform federal and state permitting processes and streamline environmental review requirements, cutting through what the plan calls “burdensome red tape.” States deemed to be imposing excessive regulatory barriers on AI development could face the loss of federal funding — a move designed to exert policy leverage.

Energy supply is highlighted as a strategic priority. With AI computing demand surging, data center electricity consumption is projected to reach 8.6% of total U.S. power use by 2035 , up from the current 3.5%. To meet this demand, the plan calls for prioritizing the development of nuclear power, advanced geothermal, and natural gas. It also proposes extending the operational life of coal and nuclear plants already scheduled for closure and authorizes the use of emergency powers to ensure grid stability.

President Trump is set to sign a series of executive orders on Wednesday to implement the plan. These include directives for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export-Import Bank to support the overseas deployment of American AI technologies, as well as a requirement that large language models used by federal agencies must remain “neutral and unbiased” — a provision aimed at preventing political misuse.

The initiative is seen as a key step in fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to position the United States as the world’s central hub for AI innovation.