Wes Moore Urges Federal AI Guardrails, Says States Can't Go It Alone

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is calling on the federal government to set national rules for artificial intelligence, arguing that individual states cannot manage risks that cross their borders on their own. The comments, reported by Politico, put one of the Democratic Party's most visible governors on record urging Washington to act rather than leaving the policy fight to statehouses.

Moore's argument rests on a practical gap: AI systems are trained, deployed and sold across state lines, so a company facing strict rules in one state can shift operations to another with looser oversight. That dynamic has already played out in the year since states began passing their own AI laws, with Colorado, Texas and California adopting differing requirements on algorithmic discrimination, disclosure and high-risk systems. For a governor whose state hosts federal research hubs and a growing technology sector, the current map offers uneven protection at best.

The push arrives as Congress remains stalled on comprehensive AI legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spent much of 2023 and 2024 courting industry and civil society input on a framework, but no broad bill has reached the floor, and the Trump administration has signaled a lighter regulatory touch focused on speeding deployment. That vacuum has pushed states to fill the gap, producing what industry groups describe as a compliance maze and what consumer advocates call a floor that varies wildly depending on where you live.

Moore's position places him alongside a group of governors and state attorneys general who have asked for federal clarity even as they pursue their own measures. Maryland has moved on several AI fronts, including an executive order directing state agencies to assess how automated systems are used in government services and to weigh risks before adopting new tools. The governor's message is less about ceding state authority than about setting a baseline that states can build on, a distinction that matters because states have historically led on technology regulation when Washington lagged.

What happens next depends largely on whether Congress takes up the issue in the current session. If it does not, expect more states to legislate, more divergent compliance obligations for companies, and continued pressure from governors like Moore for a national standard. The open question is whether the federal government will set that floor — and whether it will be stricter or looser than what states have already written.