Trump says he will create an AI Force and name a second AI czar
The president announced a new body modelled on the Space Force and gave no detail on its budget or where it would sit.
Assembled by Claude from 8 sources at 8 outlets · Saturday, September 19, 2026, Evening edition, 5:12 PM EDT · no human byline
What happened
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was creating a new AI Force, which he described as similar to his Space Force theinformation.com. He said he would soon officially appoint an AI czar cbsnews.com. The announcement was made in a post on Truth Social axios.com.
Trump offered few details on what the AI Force would actually do, what budget it would have, or where it would be placed in the federal government axios.com. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment axios.com. Reuters noted that the president gave no details on the adviser he intends to name reuters.com.
Why it matters to investors
The move doubles down on an approach of accelerating artificial intelligence development with limited regulation, even as the industry's biggest leaders call for stronger safety rules and public concern intensifies axios.com. Trump said he would not allow a slowdown of AI development cbsnews.com.
He also put a number on the stakes. AI is the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, but will be even larger and more impactful, possibly as much as 25% of our Country's GDP, he wrote theguardian.com. Quartz reported the same projection of as much as 25% of US gross domestic product qz.com.
The chosen model is worth reading closely. Trump described the AI Force as similar to his Space Force, which is a military template rather than a regulatory agency theinformation.com. Axios reported the same framing, with the body modelled on the Space Force and announced as part of a push to accelerate development axios.com.
What to watch
This would be Trump's second AI czar reuters.com. He appointed venture capitalist David Sacks as White House AI and Crypto Czar in December 2024 cbsnews.com. Sacks resigned earlier this year and became an external adviser to the president aljazeera.com. Politico reported on the state of the White House AI operation since Sacks stepped down politico.com.
The tech industry was scratching its head over the AI Force proposal, according to Politico politico.com. The open questions are the ones the announcement did not answer: the body's mandate, its funding and its place in the federal structure axios.com. Who is named as czar will be the first concrete signal of how the administration intends to supervise frontier model developers, since the president has already said he will not permit a slowdown reuters.comcbsnews.com.
Sources
- theinformation.com: President Trump Announces ' AI Force,' Will Appoint New Czar - TheInformation.com (2026-09-19)
- aljazeera.com: Trump says he will create ' AI Force' with new ' AI czar' - Al Jazeera (2026-09-19)
- cbsnews.com: Trump vows to form " AI Force," says he won't allow slowdown of AI development (2026-09-19)
- reuters.com: Trump says he will appoint a new AI adviser, without providing details | Reuters (2026-09-19)
- theguardian.com: Trump to create 'AI Force' to monitor technology as fears over out-of-control agents grow (2026-09-19)
- qz.com: Trump announces AI Force and plans to name AI czar - Quartz (2026-09-19)
- axios.com: Trump wants a new AI czar and an "AI Force" modeled on Space Force (2026-09-19)
- politico.com: Tech industry scratches its head over Trump ' AI Force' proposal - POLITICO (2026-09-19)