Senate parliamentarian greenlights AI moratorium again

A provision that bars states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) for a 10-year period can remain in President Trump’s sweeping tax package, the Senate parliamentarian determined Friday. 

The decision, announced by Senate Budget Democrats, once again found the moratorium clears a procedural hurdle known as the Byrd rule. 

The provision’s future in the reconciliation bill appeared in danger Thursday, after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough asked Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to rewrite the measure. 

It had initially been cleared by the Senate referee last weekend, after Cruz altered the language to tie the moratorium to federal funding.  

The most recent language banned states from regulating AI models and systems if they want access to $500 million in AI infrastructure and deployment funds. 

However, the parliamentarian voiced concerns about the provision when she met with Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, on Wednesday night, Cantwell told reporters Thursday. 

Democrats had argued that the measure would impact $42 billion in broadband funding in violation of the Byrd rule. 

MacDonough’s latest approval notes that the provision “does not violate the Byrd Rule as long as the conditions only apply to the new $500 million provided by the reconciliation bill,” according to a press release from Senate Budget Democrats. 

The Byrd rule, which determines what can be voted on as part of the budget reconciliation process with a simple-majority vote, has represented a key hurdle to Republican priorities as they rush to pass Trump’s spending bill by his self-imposed deadline of July 4. 

While the AI moratorium has cleared the Byrd rule, it may still face additional hurdles, with several House and Senate Republicans voicing opposition to the measure. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have all come out against the provision.