Trump expected to name intelligence director Jay Clayton as AI czar

President Trump is expected to give Jay Clayton, his director of national intelligence, a second title as the White House’s artificial intelligence czar, Axios reported¹. Trump calls the brief “super intelligence” rather than artificial intelligence, and Clayton is expected to hold both jobs at once¹. Quartz, the South China Morning Post and the Gulf Daily News each reported the expected appointment^2,3,4.

The post has been empty for months. Quartz reported that the venture capitalist David Sacks held it from January 2025 until March of this year, leaving when he reached the time ceiling on his status as a government employee². The Gulf Daily News reported that Sacks held the role at the start of Trump’s second term and still advises the president on AI⁴. Time’s account, carried by Magzter, dated the appointment to six months after Sacks stepped down, and reported that Trump also plans to start an “AI Force”⁶.

Why it matters to investors

The appointment puts the government’s AI brief in the hands of its senior intelligence official. Axios reported that Trump had been warming to Clayton because, as director of national intelligence, he has shown that he treats the security threats from AI as serious¹. The Cryptonomist reported that the choice marks a split from the way Trump originally organised his technology policy team⁵.

That sits awkwardly against the administration’s stated regulatory posture. Axios reported that calls for government intervention in AI’s development are growing, but that the president has repeatedly said he favours a light regulatory touch and has called fears about the technology’s threat to humanity a hoax¹. An intelligence chief who views AI security risks as real, running a portfolio whose declared policy is restraint, is the tension investors in AI infrastructure now have to price^1,5.

What to watch

Whether the role carries authority or only a title. Axios reported that Trump had previously told it that Clayton would be a good idea for the job, which suggests the president’s own preference rather than an interagency process¹. Sacks continues to advise on AI from outside, according to the Gulf Daily News, so the new czar may not be the only channel into the Oval Office⁴.

The second thing to watch is the “AI Force” that Time reported Trump plans to start, which the excerpt describes as modelled on something the available text does not name⁶. The reports agree on the appointment and on who held the job before; none of them sets out what powers, budget or staff come with it^1,2,3,4,5.