Trump's AI executive order nears key deadline as regulation debate intensifies

CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a working lunch with G7 leaders, G7 outreach partners, and global tech CEOs on innovation and AI, during the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Anna Moneymaker | Getty ImagesWhen President Donald Trump signed his AI executive order in early June, he gave federal agencies 60 days to develop a key framework as part of its implementation. On Saturday, their time is up. The fast-approaching deadline of Aug. 1 has been the subject of much anticipation in Silicon Valley, where the debate over artificial intelligence regulation has been raging in recent days. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia's Jensen Huang were among tech leaders who met with lawmakers and Trump administration officials in Washington, D.C., this week, all trying to influence upcoming decisions. Trump's executive order, thin on details, asks AI companies to voluntarily submit their models to the government for evaluation ahead of their public release. The president tasked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials with ir...