A last-minute challenge to one of President Donald Trump’s signature tech provisions emerged Monday from State Sen. Angela Paxton.

Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) urged U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn to strike a decade-long moratorium on state AI regulations from Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping tax and spending package now undergoing final amendments in the Senate.

“Today I sent a letter to Senators @tedcruz & @JohnCornyn calling on them to remove the AI moratorium provision from the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’” she posted on X, attaching a letter that framed the issue as both a matter of state sovereignty and public safety.

“If the OBBB passes with the AI moratorium in place, our important work on preventing child pornography, protecting data privacy, preventing discrimination, and holding Big Tech accountable in Texas will be rendered moot,” she wrote.

Angela Paxton’s intervention carries heightened political significance.

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Her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has launched a primary campaign to unseat Cornyn in 2026. While her letter doesn’t mention this particular race, it puts Angela Paxton at odds with her husband’s rival and with Cruz, who authored the moratorium provision in the Senate version of the bill.

The AI provision would require states to suspend enforcement of their AI-related laws for 10 years to access certain federal funding. Senate critics have described it as de facto preemption, stripping states of their ability to respond to local AI threats, The Dallas Express reported.

Trade unionists have also been critical.

Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien condemned the clause last week as “a disaster for communities and working people,” warning that “the unfettered intrusion of AI application into our workplaces and homes … threatens communities nationwide.”

Cornyn has not commented directly on Angela Paxton’s letter. Cruz defended the measure last week, telling Tech Brief that it simply “require[s] states that voluntarily seek [federal broadband funds] … to temporarily pause AI regulations.”

“This light-touch regulatory approach to new technologies has been incredibly successful in promoting American innovation and jobs,” Cruz said.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed that argument on social media, claiming the national standard would “end the chaos of 50 different state laws.”

Angela Paxton countered that argument with a forceful defense of the Tenth Amendment: “By preventing states from legislating on an issue that will have a rapid and unprecedented impact … Congress would be trampling on states rights.”

Her letter cited Texas’s recently passed Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, which prohibits use of AI for “creating a social credit system, encouraging self-harm, or committing crimes.” It also enables a regulatory sandbox for innovation.

With the Senate now deep in a “vote-a-rama” on Trump’s domestic priorities, amendments to the bill could still be adopted. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on June 30, “Hopefully we’ll know soon enough” whether Republicans have the votes to pass the bill, per CNN.

For now, the bill faces vocal opposition from both ends of the political spectrum, with labor leaders like the Teamsters and Angela Paxton finding uncommon common ground.

“If adopted,” O’Brien warned, “this provision extinguishes local control.”