Signal Blackburn Releases Discussion Draft of the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act

Summary

On March 18, 2026, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a 291-page discussion draft titled the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act, organized into 17 titles, which she said would codify President Trump's December executive order into a single federal AI rulebook. The bill's name is a backronym for "The Republic Unifying Meritocratic Performance Advancing Machine intelligence by Eliminating Regulatory Interstate Chaos Across American Industry." Its provisions include developer duties of care for AI chatbots, incorporation of the Kids Online Safety Act and NO FAKES Act protections, restrictions on AI companions for minors, transparency and watermarking requirements for synthetic content, provisions declaring certain AI training uses not to be fair use under the Copyright Act, and requirements for federal agencies to procure "unbiased" AI models. Despite being framed as resolving a state-law patchwork, analysts note the draft does not expressly preempt all state and local AI laws. The Motion Picture Association voiced support, while the Foundation for American Innovation called the bill a "disaster," criticizing its copyright fair-use provisions and a proposed Department of Energy study on nationalizing AI labs. The draft followed the White House's own March 20, 2026 National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.