Trump Pulls AI Executive Order Hours Before Signing — "I Just Hate Regulation"

President Trump abruptly canceled the signing of a much-anticipated AI and cybersecurity executive order on May 21, 2026, just hours before the ceremony. AI adviser David Sacks, Elon Musk of xAI, and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta all spoke with Trump the night before and morning of the signing. At the core: Trump simply hates regulation.

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A photo op with major AI and tech CEOs had been arranged at the White House. Instead, Trump's aversion to regulation — reinforced by conversations with Sacks and two of the world's most powerful tech executives — killed the event. AI safety advocates who had hoped for movement on AI guardrails were left empty-handed. The accelerationists won again.

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Trump in His Own Words

I didn't like certain aspects of it. I postponed it. I think it gets in the way of — you know, we're leading China, we're leading everybody, and I didn't want to do anything to get in the way of that lead.

President Trump, Oval Office press remarks

A source familiar with the discussions told Axios that Trump "just hates regulation" and that Sacks "hated it" too. "The whole thing was unnecessary and just something doomers wanted," the source said.

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Sacks, Musk, Zuckerberg — Who Killed the EO?

According to Axios, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, xAI CEO Elon Musk, and AI adviser David Sacks all spoke with Trump between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. None of the companies responded to requests for comment. The available evidence suggests these conversations reinforced — rather than created — Trump's existing hostility toward the order.

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What the Pulled Executive Order Contained

• Voluntary AI model safety testing program of up to 90 days before public release
• Treasury Department in a leading role for coordinating security vulnerability disclosures (unusual — CISA and NIST typically lead)
• Rules for frontier AI model voluntary testing and security review
• Provisions on allied-country coordination for AI safety testing

The Treasury Department's starring role was itself a source of criticism. One tech industry source told Axios: "It's not clear just objectively speaking why Treasury is involved and what is their substantive expertise in this area." Traditionally, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and NIST have handled critical security vulnerability reviews.

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What Comes Next — Regulatory Vacuum Likely to Continue

The White House's Office of the National Cyber Director has signaled privately that additional AI security initiatives are in the works beyond the now-postponed executive order. No timeline was given. With anti-AI sentiment growing even within Trump's party — including Steve Bannon's "Humans First" coalition — the political incentive to revisit binding AI rules is limited. The US AI policy landscape will likely remain governed by voluntary frameworks for the foreseeable future.

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