Scalise: No AI Moratorium in National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2025 – Republicans are no longer looking to block state AI laws as part of a must-pass defense bill.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters Tuesday that GOP supporters of the President Donald Trump-backed measure were considering other options. Democrats and several Republican lawmakers and governors have been fiercely opposed to including the measure in the National Defense Authorization Act.

“If you can add it, that’s great, but that wasn’t the best place for this to fit,” Scalise said, according to The Hill and other outlets. “But we’re still looking at other places because there’s still an interest.”