White House delay on AI testing order raises regulatory risk for frontier models

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White House AI testing delay

Highlights

The Trump administration delayed an executive order proposing a voluntary 90-day pre-release vetting regime for U.S.-based frontier AI models due to policy concerns.
White House reluctance on AI safety rules persists, but some officials considered financial-system risks after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Wall Street executives about Mythos in April.
A U.S.-only AI review mechanism could mitigate infrastructure and market risks, but longer-term stability may require international monitoring networks involving entities like the UK AI Security Institute.

Proposed U.S. vetting plan faces setback

As reported by Financial Times, the Trump administration last week delayed an executive order that would create a voluntary testing regime between U.S.-based frontier AI companies and the government, with new models studied for 90 days before public release. President Donald Trump says he objects to parts of the draft and does not want policy to hinder the U.S. lead over China.

The proposal is described as a limited but meaningful attempt to examine systems with what the article calls nation-state capabilities before wider deployment. The draft focuses mainly on cyber security, depends on voluntary participation by U.S. companies and limits pre-release testing to U.S. agencies and select trusted partners agreed with the government.

The White House has broadly treated AI safety rules as an unnecessary constraint on major technology groups. Still, some officials are said to have shifted position after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets Wall Street executives in April to discuss possible financial-system risks linked to Mythos, before the order is reportedly slowed again following lobbying from other officials and technology leaders.

Industry and international oversight implications

A formal review mechanism is increasingly presented as a safeguard against a severe AI-related incident that could disrupt critical infrastructure, damage financial markets or trigger a broader backlash against the sector. Such an event could also undermine an industry the administration views as central to growth, strategic competition with China and support for the U.S. stock market.

The article argues that a U.S.-led framework is likely the most realistic near-term option, even if it remains narrow and nationally focused. Over the longer term, it points to the need for an international vetting network that draws on expertise outside the U.S., including the UK AI Security Institute, which is described as the only non-U.S. government body given access to Mythos.

That broader approach would aim to build monitoring before a crisis forces policymakers to react. For AI companies, investors and regulators, the central issue is whether oversight can be introduced quickly enough to manage high-end model risks without derailing innovation.

Our earlier coverage of the EU’s draft tech sovereignty strategy explained how Brussels is planning a stronger industrial push across cloud computing, AI and semiconductors to reduce dependence on foreign—especially U.S.—digital infrastructure. The proposal includes a Cloud and AI Development Act to rapidly expand EU data centre capacity and introduce sovereignty risk assessments, alongside a renewed effort to bolster domestic chip manufacturing to improve resilience amid rising transatlantic tensions.

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