The Pulse
Wes Moore Recruits Governors for a Bipartisan AI Framework
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says he and Indiana Gov. Mike Braun will develop a bipartisan governors’ framework for artificial intelligence. The initiative comes as Moore criticizes Washington’s approach and several states adopt their own AI mea
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Moore says governors cannot wait for Washington
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is asking governors from both parties to develop an artificial intelligence framework while President Donald Trump and Congress take sharply different approaches to oversight. Moore says states need to act because the federal government has not established a clear policy response. The initiative’s immediate partners include Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican who co-chairs the National Governors Association with Moore.
“The federal government has a unique leadership role that they have to play and that includes both the White House and Congress,” Moore said after speaking at an innovation conference in Baltimore on October 1. “In the absence of that, the governors cannot just sit on our hands.” Moore said other governors from both parties plan to participate, but did not name them or specify a timetable for the framework.
A voluntary White House accord draws Moore’s criticism
The governors’ effort follows a White House meeting between Trump and AI executives, where the president and technology leaders signed a voluntary accord that Trump described as “morally binding.” The agreement is to include internal and external reviews; Trump praised what he called the industry’s “tremendous self-policing.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moore’s criticism.
Moore questioned whether the meeting produced the transparency and safeguards he wants. “Who in the room was advocating for more transparency or more regulatory guardrails?” he said. He added that the meeting had not made him think the governors’ work was unnecessary.
Trump has dismissed concerns about AI as a “hoax” and argued that the United States must stay competitive with China, according to the Associated Press. Moore, by contrast, says governors should address risks while federal lawmakers have yet to agree on legislation. The disagreement is over both the pace of government action and whether voluntary industry commitments can substitute for enforceable rules.
States are moving, but their reach is limited
Governors in Maryland, California, Illinois, Oregon and Virginia have issued executive orders or taken other steps intended to set standards for AI in the past month. Republican governors Spencer Cox of Utah and Greg Abbott of Texas have taken action against data-center development. Those measures address state-level concerns, but states have limited authority over a technology that operates across state and national borders.
Congress has seen activity without a settled legislative response. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, hosted a briefing with lawmakers and experts last month, while Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, has opened an investigation into OpenAI. Neither development has produced broad agreement on a federal approach.
Moore’s plan meets an unsettled state debate
Moore’s initiative also lands amid political disputes over data centers, the facilities that power many AI services. Moore signed a state executive order last month establishing new rules for data centers and has urged Maryland lawmakers to repeal a tax exemption enacted before he took office. He has acknowledged that parts of his own 2024 AI executive order are already outdated.
The governor’s announcement frames the next step as a joint effort with Braun through the National Governors Association, not a finished set of rules. The group’s scope, membership and recommendations remain unspecified in Moore’s public remarks. For now, the concrete commitment is that the two governors will work on an AI framework while Washington’s response remains divided between a voluntary accord and stalled legislative action.