On December 7, 2025, House and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders unveiled legislative text (House Amendment to S. 1071) for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 must-pass defense authorization bill, which contains a number of artificial intelligence (AI) provisions that will likely become law by the end of the year, setting the stage for an initial vote in the House this week, followed by expected action in the Senate ahead of the holiday recess.

The conference report is the product of bicameral negotiations to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The House passed its version (H.R. 3838) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in September, while the Senate passed its version (S. 2296) in October (see prior alert here).

The compromise package notably excludes federal preemption of state AI laws, an approach that had drawn bipartisan criticism from both state and federal policymakers. Following the release of the package, however, President Trump indicated he intends to issue an executive order (EO) in the coming days regarding national AI standards.

The final NDAA also excludes the GAIN AI Act, which would have required U.S. chipmakers to prioritize American customers before selling advanced AI chips to China and other arms-embargoed countries.

Read on Akin Gump »