President Donald Trump is expected to choose Jay Clayton as the White House’s AI czar, two people familiar with the discussions told CNN in a report published on 2 October. One of them said Trump could announce the decision as early as Friday. Clayton is the director of national intelligence and is expected to keep that job if appointed.
Key points
- CNN reported that Trump is expected to choose Clayton, with an announcement possible on 2 October.
- Clayton is expected to retain his post as director of national intelligence while taking on the AI role.
- Clayton has argued against pausing US AI development and pointed to the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice as agencies able to police companies.
- A White House official called reports of a personnel decision “baseless speculation” and said Trump would make any announcement himself.
Clayton could keep intelligence role as AI czar
Trump told reporters on 29 September that he expected to name an AI czar within three or four days. He said he wanted to consult companies and House Republican leaders before deciding. On the same day, Trump told Axios that Clayton would be a good choice for the job. The president had announced plans in September to create an “AI Force” and appoint a czar.
The administration has discussed leaving Clayton in charge of national intelligence while giving him the additional post, according to CBS News, which cited people briefed on the matter. Three of those people said Trump was expected to make his final decision shortly. The Senate confirmed Clayton as director of national intelligence in July. He previously led the Securities and Exchange Commission for most of Trump’s first term and served as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan.
Clayton would follow David Sacks, who held the AI and cryptocurrency czar roles until March 2026. Sacks left after reaching the time limit for a special government employee and continues to co-chair the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. AI Affairs had reported Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emerging as a frontrunner for the White House role.
A White House official told CBS News: “Any personnel announcement will be announced directly by the President. Any reporting until then is baseless speculation.” Clayton twice declined to answer directly when asked on 30 September whether he would accept the czar role if offered it, CNBC reported.
Clayton points to the FTC and Justice Department
At his Senate confirmation hearing, Clayton described AI as both an opportunity and a threat. In his 30 September interview with CNBC, he called “super intelligence” a national security issue and argued against pausing US companies’ development of AI models. He questioned why the United States would step back while companies elsewhere continued to develop and deploy them.
Clayton also said the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice could protect the public in relation to AI companies. Asked about Senator Elizabeth Warren’s criticism of industry self-regulation, he pointed to those agencies and said their leaders were committed to that work. He favoured federal agencies over civil lawsuits as a way of policing the companies, CNBC reported.
Those views place an existing intelligence chief in the debate over both AI development and its oversight. The proposed second appointment would put Clayton in a White House policy role as well as his Senate-confirmed intelligence post. Trump has argued that slowing AI development could give Chinese laboratories an advantage, and has said federal law enforcement can deal with bad actors, CBS News reported.
Trump’s voluntary AI accord sets the backdrop
Trump met executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia and SpaceXAI at the White House on 29 September. The companies committed to internal controls and external audits intended to check whether their AI models work as intended. Trump called the agreement “morally binding” and said the companies understood that they had to police themselves. AI Affairs reported that the voluntary accord carries no penalties.
The question of legal requirements has divided participants in the debate. Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman have supported pacing development at the frontier to manage risks, while some lawmakers have sought legal guardrails. Sacks and Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang have argued that some warnings about AI’s potential threats are exaggerated.
Trump told reporters on 29 September that he was close to choosing a czar but wanted to check with companies and House Republican leaders before making his decision, according to CNN.
