Trump delays AI security executive order, citing concerns that requirements could hinder U.S. tech leadership

TechCrunch AI · May 21, 2026

AI Summary

•President Donald Trump postponed signing an executive order that would direct the Office of the National Cyber Director and other agencies to evaluate AI models for security before release. Trump stated dissatisfaction with the order's language and said he did not want to do anything that could impede U.S. AI leadership over China.
•The executive order would have required AI companies to share advanced models with the government between 14 and 90 days ahead of launch. Trump expressed concern that the language 'could have been a blocker.' The order was prompted in part by the release of Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.5 Cyber, both of which can quickly find and exploit security vulnerabilities.
•According to several reports, an unofficial reason for the delay was insufficient availability of tech CEOs to attend a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. on short notice.

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