# EO 14179: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eo-14179
Last updated: Oct 5, 2026

Executive Order 14179, signed January 23, 2025 and published at 90 FR 8741 on January 31, 2025, sets the policy of the United States 'to sustain and enhance America's global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security' and revokes certain existing AI policies and directives. It ordered an AI Action Plan within 180 days and told agency heads to suspend, revise or rescind actions taken under the revoked Executive Order 14110 that are inconsistent with this policy. It imposes no obligations on banks and creates no private right (Sec. 6(c)), but it is the starting point for the federal deregulatory approach to AI that bank supervisors operate within.

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Authority | [White House](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/white-house) |
| Type | Regulation |
| Status | In force |
| Published | Jan 23, 2025 |
| Effective | Jan 23, 2025 |
| Applies to | Federal executive departments and agencies (the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, the National Security Advisor and the OMB Director are tasked directly). Banks and other private parties are not regulated by it; it applies to them only through agency actions it triggers. |
| Official text | https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/31/2025-02172/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence |

## Key points

- Sec. 1: the order 'revokes certain existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation'.
- Sec. 2: policy is 'to sustain and enhance America's global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security'.
- Sec. 3: 'artificial intelligence' has the meaning in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3).
- Sec. 4(a): within 180 days the APST, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto and the National Security Advisor, with OMB and relevant agencies, must submit an action plan to the President; the plan was released as America's AI Action Plan on July 23, 2025.
- Sec. 5(a): they must 'immediately review' all policies, directives, regulations, orders and other actions taken under the revoked Executive Order 14110, and agency heads must, as appropriate and consistent with law, suspend, revise or rescind actions inconsistent with the Sec. 2 policy, or provide exemptions until that can be finalized.
- Sec. 5(b): within 60 days the OMB Director, in coordination with the APST, must revise OMB Memoranda M-24-10 and M-24-18 as necessary to be consistent with the policy.
- Sec. 6(a)-(c): preserves agencies' statutory authority and OMB functions, applies consistent with law and appropriations, and creates no right or benefit enforceable at law or in equity against the United States.
- Federal Register: 90 FR 8741 (pages 8741-8742), FR Doc. 2025-02172, filed January 30, 2025.

## What changed for banks

EO 14179 replaced the previous administration's AI order with an innovation-first policy and put every agency on notice to review AI actions taken under the revoked order. For banks it did not change any prudential, consumer-protection or securities duty; it changed the direction of federal supervisory posture on AI and began the sequence of documents (the July 2025 Action Plan, EO 14365 on state laws, the 2026 Treasury and FSOC AI initiatives) that now frame federal AI policy.

## Use cases it governs

- [AI governance (general)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#governance-general)
- [Model risk management](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#model-risk)
- [Generative & agentic AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#generative-agentic-ai)

## What does EO 14179 require of banks?

Executive Order 14179, 'Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence', requires nothing of banks directly. It is addressed to federal officials: it sets a policy of sustaining and enhancing America's global AI dominance (Sec. 2), orders an AI Action Plan within 180 days (Sec. 4), directs review of every action taken under the revoked Executive Order 14110 with agency heads to suspend, revise or rescind inconsistent actions (Sec. 5(a)), and orders OMB to revise memoranda M-24-10 and M-24-18 within 60 days (Sec. 5(b)). Section 6(c) states that the order creates no right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity. Its relevance to a bank is as the policy source for later documents: the July 2025 AI Action Plan, the December 2025 order on state AI laws, and federal supervisors' own reviews of AI-related guidance.

| Rule | Authority | What it requires | Status | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Section 2 — Policy | [White House](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/white-house) | Sets the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America's global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security. | In force since January 23, 2025 | [EO 14179](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eo-14179) |
| Section 3 — Definition | [White House](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/white-house) | Adopts the statutory definition of artificial intelligence in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3) for purposes of the order. | In force since January 23, 2025 | [EO 14179](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eo-14179) |
| Section 4(a) — AI Action Plan | [White House](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/white-house) | Within 180 days the APST, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto and the National Security Advisor must develop and submit an action plan to achieve the Sec. 2 policy; released as America's AI Action Plan on July 23, 2025. | Delivered July 23, 2025 | [America's AI Action Plan](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/americas-ai-action-plan-2025) |
| Section 5(a) — Review of actions under Executive Order 14110 | [White House](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/white-house) | Immediately review all policies, directives, regulations, orders and other actions taken under the revoked EO 14110, and have agency heads, as appropriate and consistent with law, suspend, revise or rescind (or propose to do so) actions inconsistent with the Sec. 2 policy. | From January 23, 2025 | [EO 14179](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eo-14179) |
| Section 5(b) — OMB memoranda M-24-10 and M-24-18 | [White House](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/white-house) | The OMB Director, in coordination with the APST, must revise OMB Memoranda M-24-10 and M-24-18 within 60 days as necessary to be consistent with the Sec. 2 policy. | Within 60 days of January 23, 2025 | [EO 14179](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eo-14179) |
| Section 6(c) — No private right | [White House](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/white-house) | The order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States or any other person. | In force since January 23, 2025 | [EO 14179](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eo-14179) |

EO 14179 is the first of three White House documents that define federal AI policy for the period. Its direct instruction to agencies is narrow (an action plan, a review, a revision of OMB memoranda), but the review in Section 5(a) is open-ended: every agency was asked to look at actions taken under the revoked order and to suspend, revise or rescind those that were inconsistent with the new policy 'as appropriate and consistent with applicable law'. Bank regulators are not named, and the text does not list which actions were affected.

The order sits alongside, not in place of, the standing federal framework for banks. Model risk management, fair lending, adverse action notice duties and third-party risk management continue to apply under their own authorities; the order does not amend any of them. It also does not preempt state law, which is addressed by EO 14365 and discussed on that page.

Compared with the EU AI Act, which regulates credit-scoring AI as high-risk with binding obligations, EO 14179 is a statement of direction for the executive branch. A bank operating in both jurisdictions should treat the EU instrument as the compliance driver and the US order as context for how US agencies approach AI supervision.

### What this means in practice

- Treat EO 14179 as policy context, not a compliance requirement: it does not change any existing federal obligation for a bank.
- Do not retire AI governance controls on the strength of the order; model risk, fair lending, adverse action and third-party duties continue under the prudential regulators, the CFPB and state law.
- Track agency follow-through rather than the order: the AI Action Plan (July 2025), Treasury's 2026 AI resources, and any bank-regulator guidance revised under Sec. 5(a).
- If your policies cite OMB M-24-10 or M-24-18 as a benchmark, note that Sec. 5(b) required OMB to revise them and confirm which version your references reflect.
- In multi-jurisdiction programmes, keep the EU AI Act as the binding baseline and use the US documents to anticipate supervisory tone.

## FAQ

### Does EO 14179 apply to banks?

Not directly. It orders federal officials to develop an Action Plan, review actions taken under the revoked Executive Order 14110 and revise OMB memoranda. Section 6(c) says it creates no right or benefit enforceable against the United States or anyone else, and it sets no requirements for private firms. Banks feel it indirectly through the agencies' revised policies.

### When was EO 14179 signed and what is its Federal Register citation?

President Trump signed it on January 23, 2025. It was published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2025, at 90 FR 8741 (FR Doc. 2025-02172). The text sets no separate effective date.

### What did EO 14179 revoke?

Section 1 says the order 'revokes certain existing AI policies and directives', and Section 5 refers to 'the revoked Executive Order 14110' of October 30, 2023, 'Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence'. Section 5(b) also requires OMB to revise memoranda M-24-10 and M-24-18 within 60 days.

### How does EO 14179 compare with the EU AI Act?

They differ in kind. EO 14179 is a policy direction to federal agencies that imposes no duties on private firms, while the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is binding law with obligations and penalties, including for high-risk uses such as credit scoring.

## Related documents

- [EO 14365](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eo-14365) — Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence (Dec 11, 2025)
- [America's AI Action Plan](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/americas-ai-action-plan-2025) — America's AI Action Plan (Jul 23, 2025)
- [SB 947](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/ca-sb-947-2026) — Employment: Automated Decision Systems (No Robo Bosses Act) (Sep 30, 2026)
- [Bailey: Frontier AI and the Question of Governance (Sep 2026)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/boe-bailey-frontier-ai-governance-2026) — Frontier AI and the Question of Governance — Governor Andrew Bailey (Sep 30, 2026)
- [AB 1609](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/ca-ab-1609-2026) — Customer Service Chatbots (Right to Human Customer Service Act) (Sep 28, 2026)
- [Atkins remarks at Investor Advisory Committee (Sep 2026)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/sec-atkins-iac-ai-disclosure-remarks-2026-09) — Remarks at the SEC Investor Advisory Committee Meeting on AI Technologies and the Public Markets Information Ecosystem (Sep 10, 2026)
- [FCA multi-firm review: Frontier AI and cyber resilience (Sep 2026)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fca-frontier-ai-cyber-resilience-2026) — Frontier AI and Cyber Resilience (Sep 2, 2026)
- [FSB Chair's letter to G20 (Aug 2026)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fsb-chair-letter-g20-august-2026) — FSB Chair's letter to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors: August 2026 — risks arising from frontier artificial intelligence models (Aug 31, 2026)

Last reviewed Oct 5, 2026. Cite the official text (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/31/2025-02172/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence) for the rule and this page for the summary and dates.

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