President Donald Trump delayed signing an executive order on May 21, 2026 that would have allowed the government to evaluate AI models for security before they are released. “We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that leading,” he told the White House press pool.
A Delayed Signing
Trump said he was not happy with the order’s language, noting that a phrase in it could have been a blocker. Unofficial reports pointed to a different reason: not enough top tech CEOs could make it to Washington, D.C. on short notice — and, as one reporter put it, an executive order signing without a photo op is not a signing at all.
What the Order Would Have Done
The anticipated executive order would have tasked the Office of the National Cyber Director and other agencies with developing a process to evaluate AI models for security before their release. The push was partly a response to the release of Anthropic’s Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 Cyber — both models that can quickly find and exploit security vulnerabilities.
The 14-to-90 Day Question
A key sticking point in the order’s language, according to CNN, was a proposed requirement for AI companies to share advanced models with the government between 14 and 90 days ahead of launch. That window would give federal agencies time to assess security risks before a model reached the public — but the industry warned it would slow release cadences and cede ground in the global AI race.
The Photo Op Problem
Multiple outlets reported that the real driver of the delay was logistical: too few invited tech leaders confirmed they could attend the signing ceremony on short notice. The administration, which treats such ceremonies as public displays of industry support, preferred to wait until it could stage the moment with the CEOs in the room.
What This Means
The delay leaves pre-release security reviews for frontier models in limbo — not cancelled, but not signed. For safety advocates it is a setback; for the AI industry it is a reprieve that keeps the US releasing models on its own schedule. What the administration does with the language, and who shows up for the eventual signing, will determine how binding the review process becomes.