Marsha Blackburn is a US Senator from Tennessee (2019–present) who sits on the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees and has served as a Republican lead on AI policy in the 119th Congress. She advances a substantive-preemption position on AI regulation: preempting state laws while pairing that preemption with a federal rulebook, a stance she frames as distinct from a libertarian "no rules" approach and from a Democratic "states-as-laboratories" approach.
AI-policy positions and legislative work
Blackburn's central AI-policy vehicle is the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act, a framework she unveiled in a Daily Signal op-ed on 2026-01-27 (Why America Needs One Rulebook for AI — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Daily Signal op-ed, January 2026)). She organizes the framework around what she calls the "four Cs": children, creators, conservatives, and communities. She frames the broader effort under the phrase "one rulebook for AI," the title of the op-ed and the label she uses for the substantive-preemption position. She also uses the phrase "Big Tech exploitation" to connect consumer-protection arguments (concerning data centers and copyright) with conservative cultural concerns about anti-bias.
In mid-2025 Blackburn led the 99-1 Senate vote that stripped the proposed 10-year federal moratorium on state AI regulation from the 2025 reconciliation bill. The op-ed presents that vote as evidence of Republican senators' willingness to defend state AI laws when the federal alternative is no rules at all.
Several existing or proposed measures map onto the four Cs. Blackburn is the primary Republican sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which the framework folds in as its children-safety pillar. She is a co-sponsor of the NO FAKES Act (Blackburn–Coons–Salazar–Dean), a voice and likeness protection measure folded in as the creators pillar. She cites the Tennessee ELVIS Act, a state-level law, as the template for federal AI voice and likeness protection.
In July 2026 Blackburn took the bundling strategy to the White House. Her Oval Office pitch to President Trump paired her children's-online-safety package with a narrow preemption of state AI laws, with backing from David Sacks and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett; the effort stalled after Sen. Ted Cruz objected and the White House pulled a prepared endorsement post, per July 21, 2026 reporting (Source: washingtonpost.com). See AI Federalism.
Position relative to other Republican AI voices
The op-ed situates Blackburn's stance against other Republican positions on AI preemption:
| Position | Lead voices | Blackburn's stance |
|---|---|---|
| Blanket federal preemption / no rules | Sen. Ted Cruz; some House Freedom Caucus | Rejects — was the 99 in the 99-1 vote. |
| Substantive preemption + strong federal floor | Blackburn; Sen. Thom Tillis (selectively) | Author of this position. |
| Defer to states / federal floor optional | Some moderate Republicans + most Democrats | Compatible if no federal action; rejects as default. |
Forecasts
As of 2026-05-12, several developments tied to Blackburn's agenda remained unresolved. The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act had not yet been formally introduced as a numbered bill, an outcome anticipated by 2026-12-31 if a bill number is assigned. If the bundled framework fails, at least one of the four Cs (children, creators, conservatives, communities) could survive committee markup as a standalone bill, a possibility framed against a 2027-06-30 horizon should a standalone bill on one of the four pillars be reported out of committee. Blackburn was also anticipated to co-sponsor or champion a deepfake-related bill paralleling the TAKE IT DOWN Act in the 119th Congress, with public co-sponsorship of such a bill expected by 2026-12-31.
Relationships
- sponsors: EO — Trump Federal Preemption of State AI Laws (Dec 11, 2025) (legislative-vehicle complement), NO FAKES Act (federal, proposed), TAKE IT DOWN Act (co-sponsor).
- opposes: the 10-year AI moratorium (was the 99 in the 99-1 strip-out vote).
- related: State-Level AI Regulation, California Effect, AI Bias and Discrimination, AI Data Centers, Synthetic Media / Deepfakes, Why America Needs One Rulebook for AI — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Daily Signal op-ed, January 2026).
Sources
- Why America Needs One Rulebook for AI — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Daily Signal op-ed, January 2026) — Daily Signal op-ed, 2026-01-27.