Trump says there are ways to 'rein' in AI 'if we have to'

President Donald Trump suggested that AI companies could be reined in but that he would continue to promote the technology.

Bloomberg/Getty Images President Donald Trump suggested there are existing ways to "rein" in AI.

"That's why we have the Department of Justice, and other Law Enforcement bodies," Trump wrote.

Trump has repeatedly expressed a preference to use a light touch when it comes to AI regulation.

President Donald Trump said the Justice Department has the ability to "rein" AI if need be.

"We will be careful, and that's why we have the Department of Justice, and other Law Enforcement bodies, that will rein things in if we have to," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.

While Trump mentioned the possibility of federal intervention in AI, he reiterated his long held-belief that it's best to have a light touch.

"I will only encourage AI or, SI (SUPER INTELLIGENCE)!" he said.

One potential regulatory area could center around liability.

Earlier Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would not grant frontier AI labs protection from such risks.

"These labs need to take responsibility for themselves," Bessent said during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "They can slow down any time they want to." Trump and his administration are being closely watched to see how they respond to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's renewed push for federal regulation.

Amodei already has some buy-in from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for his broader point that frontier AI labs should "pace" their development and use the time they buy to ensure the safety of their most cutting-edge models.

In the US, states including California and Illinois have led AI regulation efforts as Congress has struggled to reach consensus.

Trump has issued multiple AI-related executive actions, but there are limits to what he can do.