Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is pressing Congress and the Trump administration to establish nationwide safeguards for artificial intelligence, arguing that states cannot address the technology’s risks individually. “We need a federal administration who is both going to say more than just it’s a ‘hoax,’ and we need a Congress who’s going to actually put a check on that federal administration,” Moore said Sunday. Maryland plans to host an AI summit with industry and labor leaders in the coming weeks, Moore said. The gathering is expected to focus on the technology’s effects on workers, businesses and public safety as AI systems spread across the economy. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made a similar case Sunday, saying Illinois has adopted strict AI security requirements but cannot manage the broader risks without national and international cooperation. The state’s rules include audits and requirements that companies prepare plans for situations in which the technology behaves unpredictably or becomes difficult to control. “You can’t do this state by state,” Pritzker said on ABC’s “This Week.” “This needs to be a national effort as well as an international endeavor, especially together with our allies, because AI is not going to go away.” The Democratic governors’ comments came as state officials from both parties pursue their own AI policies despite resistance from the Trump administration. Trump has dismissed warnings about potential AI dangers as a “hoax” and a “sick conspiracy,” while arguing that slowing development could give China an advantage. Trump said Saturday that he was creating an AI task force and appointing an AI czar. Moore sharply criticized the proposal, saying it did not identify specific responsibilities or guardrails. “Governors around the country have been sounding the alarm,” Moore said, describing the proposed initiative as an “AI farce.” The debate follows warnings from several prominent technology executives, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, that AI development may need to slow as governments assess its potential consequences. State-level efforts are likely to remain uneven unless Congress establishes common standards for audits, corporate accountability and emergency planning.