By Megan R. Wilson

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In today’s issue:

• The White House and some state Republican policymakers are split on regulating artificial intelligence as state legislatures introduce hundreds of bills
• While the Trump administration seeks to legally challenge some states’ laws governing AI, federal agencies haven’t yet published a report identifying which ones it has deemed overly burdensome
• A closer look at the states targeting AI in health care, with a focus on implementing disclosures for chatbots and reining in insurers’ use

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Health Brief newsletter. We’ve made it halfway through the week, y’all.

Do you have any health care policy tips? Reach out. I’m at megan.wilson@washpost.com. Or, if you’d prefer to message me securely, I’m also on Signal at megan.434.

The Justice Department is moving to join a lawsuit filed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, opposing a Colorado law imposing AI rules. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

	The Lead Brief

Some Republican policymakers across the country are breaking with the Trump administration over its push to block state efforts to regulate artificial intelligence — a rare intraparty split that could complicate President Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda.

A dozen states have signed measures governing the use of AI in health care into law since the beginning of this year, including seven led by Republicans, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

And with some state legislatures still in session, and others expected to call special sessions, additional laws this year are likely.

→ A new report from Rebecca Adams, WP Intelligence’s lead health care analyst, digs into the topic, but let’s break down both the policy and the politics behind the federal-state divide:

The surge of state-level activity comes after Trump issued an executive order in December that took aim at state efforts to rein in AI. The order directs federal agencies to challenge state AI regulations deemed overly burdensome, tasking the Justice Department with creating an AI litigation task force and instructing the Commerce Department to identify state laws that may face federal pushback.

Meanwhile, dozens of state-level Republican lawmakers are pushing back on the White House’s opposition to state efforts, telling Trump in a letter last month that the administration risks “infringing on states’ rights, and undermining a core constitutional principle that conservatives have long defended.” 

→ The White House has already signaled opposition to specific state laws, including by sending a letter in February to push back on a Republican-led bill in Utah that it said conflicted with the administration’s national AI strategy, Axios reported. 

The legislation would require large AI companies to disclose their plans to protect children who use the technology and enact whistleblower protections for employees.

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A group of 51 GOP lawmakers in 22 states — including Utah — then sent Trump a letter rebutting the Trump administration’s moves to crack down on state-led efforts to regulate AI systems.

“We are deeply concerned by the work of officials seeking to pressure lawmakers in Utah and other states to abandon legislation aimed at mitigating risks at leading AI labs and safeguarding constituents, including young people, from AI’s worst harms,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “We firmly believe state-led efforts are fully consistent with conservative principles.”

	Executive Health Brief

The pushback from state lawmakers raises questions about who will set the rules for one of the fastest-moving technologies in the economy, and underscoring tensions between federal power and state authority.

The White House, which released a national AI legislative framework last month, didn’t respond to a request for comment about the ideological split between the administration and state-level GOP policymakers regarding AI regulation or which laws it viewed as an overreach.

But a White House official emphasized the administration is concerned that having “a patchwork of conflicting state laws would undermine American innovation and our ability to lead in the global AI race.”

“The Trump administration is eager to work with partners who will help us implement the National Policy Framework for AI, and achieve a comprehensive AI framework that serves all Americans,” the official tells me.

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By the numbers: In the first four months of the year, lawmakers in 43 states introduced more than 250 bills — rivaling the total number of AI-related bills introduced throughout all of 2025, according to a tally by law-and-consulting firm Manatt. States enacted more than two dozen laws targeting AI in health care last year, according to the firm.

While it’s not yet clear which other state laws will be targeted by the administration, the Justice Department earlier this week moved to intervene in a lawsuit filed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk.

The company is contesting a Colorado law meant to protect people from bias when using AI technologies that make or contribute to decisions that impact outcomes in areas including employment and health care services.

That law, which xAI argued equates to “state-mandated discrimination,” had been cited in Trump’s executive order as an example of government overreach.

The DOJ officially announced the AI litigation task force in January, but did not respond to an inquiry about which other laws it could target for litigation. The Commerce Department, which was required to “publish an evaluation of existing State AI laws” it had identified as onerous by mid-March, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The 12 states that have advanced AI health care laws are largely focused on three pressure points:

• Limits on insurers’ use of AI in prior authorization and coverage denials
• Strict disclosure rules for AI chatbots, especially in mental health, that ban chatbots from presenting themselves as licensed professionals
• New boundaries that aim to prevent the technology from providing services that should be provided by licensed medical providers

	What We’re Reading

“Former Fauci aide charged in alleged effort to thwart pandemic inquiries,” WaPo’s Jeremy Roebuck reports.

“RFK Jr. is holding up $600M in vaccines for poor countries,” Politico’s Carmen Paun writes.

“FDA Claims ‘Manipulated’ Data Led to Drug’s Approval, Proposes Withdrawal,” writes Ian Ingram in MedPage Today.

“The congressional Progressive Caucus has a plan for high prices,” Riley Rogerson writes at Politico.

This newsletter is published by WP Intelligence, The Washington Post’s subscription service for professionals that provides business, policy and thought leaders with actionable insights. WP Intelligence operates independently from The Washington Post newsroom. Learn more about WP Intelligence.