Trump signs executive order to review AI models before they’re released

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday creating a “voluntary framework” for AI companies to share their frontier models with the federal government before they’re released “to promote secure innovation and strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure.”

The order says the US AI industry has succeeded in part “because we refuse to stifle this innovation with overly burdensome regulation,” but that it also recognizes new AI capabilities come with security risks. Accordingly, it directs several federal agencies to come up with a framework to “assess the advanced cyber capabilities of AI models” before they’re released to the public. Companies would have the discretion of whether to share their models with the government pre-release, but could get certain confidentiality protections if they choose to do so. It also requires the federal government to prepare cyber defenses for AI, especially for critical infrastructure.

The order comes after Trump postponed at the last minute signing a previously planned executive order that he worried could “get in the way” of competing with China. While the earlier version would have allowed AI companies to voluntarily share their models 14 to 90 days before release, according to The New York Times, the current version asks companies to share their models up to 30 days before public release. Google, Microsoft, and xAI agreed last month to allow pre-release review by the Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI).

OpenAI and Anthropic had already agreed to share their models with CAISI back in 2024 under President Joe Biden as part of Biden’s push for AI safety guardrails. But until recently, the Trump administration downplayed safety concerns and took a hands-off approach under former White House AI czar David Sacks. The order signed Tuesday explicitly says it shouldn’t be taken as a form of mandatory licensing or preclearance. Still, it reflects some willingness of the Trump administration to employ oversight of AI companies.

One factor in this shift may be Anthropic’s limited April rollout of its powerful Mythos model, which the company said had flagged “thousands of high-severity vulnerabilities, including some in every major operating system and web browser.” Mythos also seemed to create an opening to thaw tensions between Anthropic and the administration, following its legal battle with the Pentagon over its use of AI for autonomous lethal weapons and mass surveillance.

The newly signed order has so far garnered praise even from groups that have advocated against restrictions on state AI laws. “The White House is officially Mythos-pilled,” Americans for Responsible Innovation President Brad Carson said in a statement, adding that the order shows the Trump administration is taking AI vulnerabilities seriously. Alliance for Secure AI CEO Brendan Steinhauser said his group is “pleased to see that the Trump administration is taking the risks of these models seriously,” and both Steinhauser and Carson urged Congress to codify mandatory protections.