Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is emerging as the leading candidate for a new White House “AI czar” position, Semafor reported on 22 September, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
Key points
- Semafor reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the frontrunner for President Trump’s new “AI czar” position, citing three sources.
- Bessent held talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the UN General Assembly this week on a potential US-China notification mechanism for AI incidents posing national security threats.
- Other names under consideration include White House OSTP Director Michael Kratsios, OPM Director Scott Kupor and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross.
- White House spokesman Kush Desai called reporting on unannounced personnel decisions “baseless speculation”; Trump is known to favour dark-horse candidates.
- Bessent told CNBC the AI czar role would “put context, shape and contours around these questions”; his Cabinet position would not bar the appointment.
Bessent’s AI policy role expands
The Treasury Secretary told CNBC earlier this week that when President Trump talked about appointing an AI czar, it was “to put context, shape and contours around these questions, and they’re very important,” adding that he thought humans are ultimately responsible for what AI does. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum simultaneously holds the “energy czar” title, showing a Cabinet secretary can hold a czar role.
US-China AI dialogue at UN General Assembly
This week Bessent met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two discussed a potential US-China notification mechanism to share information about AI incidents that threaten national security, as part of talks Bessent described as moving toward a structured US-China dialogue on AI.
Other candidates and internal dynamics
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios, a longtime Trump ally on technology, and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, who left Andreessen Horowitz to join the government, are also under consideration. National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross is another name mentioned; Bessent and Cairncross clashed over Anthropic’s Mythos model in May, Politico reported. Trump’s decision is not final, and he is known to ultimately favour dark-horse candidates.
White House pushes back on reporting
“Any reporting about personnel decisions that have not been officially announced by the administration should be regarded as baseless speculation,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. The Treasury Department did not return a request for comment.
