Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox weighed in Thursday on the regulatory debate between the federal and state governments, backing state officials in regulating aspects of the development and deployment of artificial intelligence.
Speaking at the Politico Governor’s Summit in Washington, D.C., Cox highlighted concerns about the harm new technology could cause to minors. He said he supports the Trump administration’s stance on releasing U.S. AI, but wants state authority on certain security issues.
“If we’re fighting China and you’re developing your own model, that’s a different story, but if you start selling sexualized chatbots to kids in my state, I have a problem with that. I’m going to be involved there, and the Supreme Court is going to uphold that,” Cox said.
He added that states should play a role in the implementation and deployment of AI systems across a variety of sectors, and agreed that the construction of new data centers to support the large amount of computing generated by increased use of AI should be done at the expense of individual companies.
“We should support these data centers, but that doesn’t mean we should favor them,” he said. “These companies have more money than any company in the history of the world. They can build these things.”
Cox pointed to Utah’s latest energy law, which allows new energy production for heavy-duty users, namely AI developers. He said the change would eliminate the need for consumers to offset increases in electricity prices due to AI calculations.
“Let’s use this technology to benefit humanity, and let’s regulate it so that we don’t destroy humanity. I don’t think that’s a contradiction. I think that’s common sense, and I think most Americans think that,” he said.
Cox’s comments add new color to the friction within the Republican Party, which supports President Donald Trump’s mission to foster AI innovation while respecting state AI laws. This was evident in the failure of the AI Moratorium, which first appeared in the draft of the 2025 budget reconciliation package in the House of Representatives.
In the Senate, despite support from Republican leaders such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), members of the party such as Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) voted against including the moratorium in the bill to protect existing state laws.
The Trump administration continues to aim to limit AI laws that can be enacted at the local level. In December 2025, he signed an executive order directing federal agencies to review state laws for onerous or burdensome regulations that could impede U.S. leadership in AI.
