On January 23, 2025, President Trump, marking the beginning of his second term, signed Executive Order (EO) 14179, titled “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.” This action fulfilled a campaign promise to rescind Executive Order 14110, also known as the Biden AI EO.
The focus on artificial intelligence (AI) comes as no surprise, given that it was a top priority during President Trump’s second term. In his first term, Trump became the first president to issue an EO specifically addressing AI. On February 11, 2019, he signed Executive Order 13859, “Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.” This was a groundbreaking EO that recognized AI’s crucial role in the economic and national security landscape of the United States. The EO laid the groundwork for AI investment by committing federal funds to double AI research, establishing national AI research institutes, and providing regulatory guidance for AI development in the private sector. The first Trump Administration also introduced guidance for the adoption of AI within federal agencies.
The new EO directs the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs to collaborate with relevant agency heads. They have 180 days—until July 22, 2025—to create an AI Action Plan that will replace the policies rescinded from the Biden Administration.
OSTP/NSF RFI
To facilitate the development of the AI Action Plan within this timeframe, the National Science Foundation’s Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordination Office (NCO), on behalf of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan. The deadline for submitting comments is March 15, 2025.
This provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders to provide critical feedback. As the RFI notes, the administration plans to use the input to “define the priority policy actions needed to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance, and to ensure that unnecessarily burdensome requirements do not hamper private sector AI innovation.”
Epstein Becker Green, along with its Artificial Intelligence practice group and teams specializing in health care, employment, and regulatory matters, is closely monitoring how the administration plans to address AI regulation in sectors like health care and the workplace. During President Trump’s first term, AI policy was largely focused on national security. With the rapid growth in the types and applications of AI since that time, it is expected that the Trump Administration will expand its regulatory scope in this term, with the goal of “enhancing America’s global AI dominance.”
There has been a significant increase in AI tool adoption across industries, particularly within health care—both clinical and administrative—as well as in employment decision-making. Epstein Becker Green is actively working with clients to manage enterprise risk and leverage AI innovation strategically. The firm looks forward to contributing to the shaping of the current administration’s AI policies through this and other opportunities for engagement with federal policymakers.
Submission Guidelines
OSTP is seeking input on the highest priority policy actions for inclusion in the new AI Action Plan. Responses may cover any relevant AI policy topic, including, but not limited to, hardware and chips, data centers, energy consumption and efficiency, model development, open-source development, applications and use (in the private sector or by government), explainability and assurance of AI model outputs, cybersecurity, data privacy and security throughout the lifecycle of AI system development and deployment (including security against AI model attacks), risks, regulation and governance, technical and safety standards, national security and defense, research and development, education and workforce, innovation and competition, intellectual property, procurement, international collaboration, and export controls.
OOur DC IP lawyers are here to help maneuver that frequently changing environment surrounding AI policy.