As Utah emerged as the epicenter of an internal GOP conflict over AI regulation, two groups with considerable links to progressive politics were quietly stoking the flames.

In January, State Rep. Doug Fiefia (R-UT) introduced legislation that would require AI companies to promulgate public safety and child protection plans and report any issues concerning those topics to state authorities, threatening hefty fines if they fail to do so. This legislation provoked a stern rebuke from the White House, with the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs calling the state’s HB 286 “an unfixable bill that goes against the Administration’s AI Agenda.”