Warner on Trump’s AI Executive Order
Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement regarding Trump’s executive order on artificial intelligence:
“Once again, the Trump administration has belatedly discovered the need to redo something it hastily dismantled in its first year. While this course correction – a rehash of proposals contained in the last administration’s 2023 executive order, bipartisan congressional legislation, and each of the last three years of intel authorization bills the Senate Intel Committee has passed – can begin to grapple with widespread impacts that new frontier models will have on our critical infrastructure, it can’t undo the years wasted on dismantling some of the most vital pillars of our nation’s cybersecurity response, including key information sharing initiatives and the federal agency established to protect the security of U.S. critical infrastructure.
“I salute the proposal for pre-deployment testing on a collaborative basis – just as I did when that idea was first advanced in the last administration’s EO, which was rescinded on Trump’s first day. I am strongly supportive of the effort to have NSA lead efforts to evaluate national security implications of frontier models in voluntary partnerships with frontier vendors – which is why we’ve included a provision directing NSA to do that in each of the last three years’ Intelligence Authorization bills my Committee has passed – which had been rebuffed by Trump allies in 2024 and 2025. Similarly, I’m heartened the president has learned the value of robust information sharing when new software vulnerabilities are discovered – and have been championing this kind of effort in bipartisan bills with Sen. Lankford and Sen. Tillis that would have gotten ahead of these problems years ago. While I hope that this new EO represents a dramatic change of course, I will also be watchful for indications the administration has reverted to his prior, ideological approach – for instance, by using these new pre-deployment partnerships as vectors to pressure U.S. firms into making changes to their products or Terms of Service to suit partisan or legally questionable objectives of the president and his allies.”
In 2025, Sens. Warner and Lankford introduced the Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2025 to strengthen federal cybersecurity by ensuring that federal contractors adhere to guidelines set forth by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In 2024, Sens. Warner and Tillis introduced the Secure Artificial Intelligence Act of 2024 to improve the tracking and processing of security and safety incidents and risks associated with AI.
Earlier this year, Sen. Warner pressed six GenAI companies for answers regarding their engagements with the Department of Defense (DoD), the rules under which DoD can access and use their technology, and the internal controls that exist in the event their technology is misused by DoD. The letters followed the Trump administration’s unprecedented decision to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk following a dispute over DoD’s demand to use Anthropic’s AI systems with zero restrictions, including to surveil Americans and engage fully autonomous weapons. Calling out the significant risk maliciously manipulated media to vulnerable communities, public trust, and democratic institutions, particularly during competitive election cycles, Warner also urged social media firms, GenAI platforms, and media editing software providers to take action against maliciously manipulated media – such as deepfakes – with a series of measures centered around transparency, collaboration, and means of enforcement.
Additionally, Sen. Warner has been leading the charge to ensure American workers have the skills they need to succeed in an AI-driven economy and to improve understanding of how emerging technologies are reshaping the labor market. In March, Warner introduced the Economy of the Future Commission Act, bipartisan legislation to bring together policymakers and experts from across industries to identify steps Congress can take to strengthen workforce training, support workers as jobs evolve, and ensure the United States remains globally competitive in an AI-driven economy. Also in March, Warner urged the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Census Bureau to expand data collection and public reporting on the impact of AI on the U.S. workforce. In December, Warner introduced the Investing in American Workers Act to modernize the tax code to encourage employers to invest in workforce training tied to recognized postsecondary credentials so employees can adapt to new technologies, transition into emerging roles, and share in the gains of a rapidly evolving economy. In November, Warner introduced the AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act requiring major companies and federal agencies to report AI related layoffs to the Department of Labor to be compiled into a public report.
