White House weighs AI model review before public release

The White House is weighing an executive order that could require government review of new AI models before they are released to the public, according to The New York Times. The plan would mark a reversal from the Trump administration’s earlier push to reduce AI rules and would create a working group of tech executives and government officials to examine oversight options.

People familiar with the discussions told the Times that White House officials briefed Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI on the proposal last week. One idea under discussion is a formal review process for new models before public release. Another is a system that would give the government first access to the models without necessarily blocking them from reaching the market.

The reported policy shift appears to have been prompted in part by Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model. According to Anthropic, Mythos is so capable at finding software vulnerabilities that the company chose not to release it publicly, warning that it could contribute to a cybersecurity “reckoning.” The National Security Agency is already using Mythos to assess vulnerabilities in U.S. government software, the report said.

That combination of capability and restraint seems to have sharpened concern inside the White House. The Times reported that some officials worry about the political fallout if an AI-enabled cyberattack caused serious damage, especially if the government had no early visibility into what a model could do before it was widely available.

The discussion would represent a sharp change from the administration’s earlier approach. After returning to office, Trump rolled back Biden-era AI safety measures, including mandatory safety evaluations for models with potential military use. In July, Trump described AI as a “beautiful baby” that should not be stopped “with foolish rules” or “even stupid rules.” At an AI summit in Paris, Vice President JD Vance also warned that excessive regulation could “kill a significant industry.”

The new posture appears to reflect both public pressure and internal personnel changes. A Pew survey found that 50 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Democrats are more concerned than excited about AI in daily life, suggesting broad unease across party lines. At the same time, David Sacks, who had served as AI czar and pushed the deregulation agenda, left the White House in March.

Since then, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have taken a more central role in shaping AI policy, according to the Times. The report said they have told people outside the administration that they intend to play a larger part in the issue.

A White House spokesperson told The Information that the reports were “speculation” and said any policy announcement would come directly from Trump. For now, the proposal is still under discussion, but the direction of travel is clear: the administration is considering a government review layer for frontier AI models before release.