Sources: Trump delayed signing the AI EO because “he just hates regulation”; there were questions about the EO giving the Treasury Department a leading role

Axios 2026-05-23

@dashaburns Dasha Burns on x
NEW: Trump told me in an interview today that he “was hearing concerns” about the AI executive order but was also “seeing the concerns myself.” “I have concerns about it, and I don't want to approve anything until it's done properly,” he said.
@cheyennehaslett Cheyenne Haslett on x
Andy Stone, spokesperson for Meta, says Mark Zuckerberg didn't talk to Trump until after the president made the call to abrupty pull yesterday's AI executive order: “Mark didn't speak to the president until after the event had already been canceled.” Elon Musk earlier today said…
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@Techmeme This is false. I still don't know what was in that EO and the President only spoke to me after declining to sign.
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
interesting media study on how many different versions of “why the AI exec order wasnt signed” are going around right now and who gets to save face depending on where the story landed [image]
@ericgeller Eric Geller on x
Last-minute calls from Trump-aligned tech executives (including the president's powerful former AI czar) convinced him not to sign his AI security executive order, which the executives said would hamper innovation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... [image]
@kahuna686 Mark on bluesky
Oh sure. That's why.
r/accelerate r on reddit
“He just hates regulation” Trump delays AI executive order that might hinder progress, says, “it's just something doomers wanted,” the source added

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