President Donald Trump scrapped the signing of a sweeping AI executive order on May 21, just hours before the ceremony was set to take place at the White House. The planned framework would have created a voluntary system for developers of advanced “frontier” AI models to submit their products for government review before public release, with agencies like the NSA and Treasury handling the vetting over a period of up to 90 days.

Trump pulled the order after concluding that certain elements could slow down US innovation at a moment when the race against China in AI development is intensifying. Invitations had already gone out to executives from leading AI laboratories, making the last-minute cancellation all the more awkward.

Tech heavyweights pushed back

The postponement wasn’t just about one man’s cold feet. Significant pushback came from some of the most powerful figures in tech, including xAI founder Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and David Sacks, the administration’s Special Advisor for AI and Crypto.

The fact that Sacks, who holds the dual AI-and-crypto advisory role, was among those resisting the order is particularly telling. His portfolio sits at the exact intersection of deregulation enthusiasm and emerging technology policy. When your own appointed advisor is lobbying against your executive order, the internal fault lines are hard to ignore.

A pattern of deregulation, then hesitation

Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has consistently pushed to strip back regulatory barriers around emerging technologies, including both AI and digital assets. Earlier actions included repealing AI safety-focused regulations from the prior administration and establishing a national AI policy framework designed to override potentially conflicting state-level laws.

The crypto angle matters here too. Sacks’ dual mandate over AI and crypto policy means that the philosophical battles playing out over AI oversight could easily bleed into digital asset regulation.