Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, blocked the NO FAKES Act on the Senate floor on Wednesday 30 September 2026. The bill would let people sue over AI deepfakes of their voice or likeness. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, sought passage by unanimous consent, where one senator's objection is enough to stop a bill, and Cruz appeared in person to object.
“I am happy to work with you, But at least as of now, I object.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), to Blackburn on the Senate floor · rawstory.com ↗
He said the bill was not ready, citing free-speech worries such as whether AI images shared by President Trump or satire like The Onion could fall foul of it. He had voted for it in committee over the summer, and he points to his own law against nonconsensual explicit images, real or AI-made, as the one major AI bill enacted this Congress.
Blackburn replied that it sets guardrails for creators, creates a federal property right in voice and likeness, and targets scams that would be illegal offline. Democratic co-sponsor Chris Coons called it the most ready AI bill available.
The reporting ties the clash to an older feud over a collapsed five-year ban on state AI rules, and to Cruz telling Trump the broader AI package had no path in the Senate. A day earlier he blocked another AI safety bill the same way.
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