Trump is expected to name spy chief Jay Clayton as 'AI czar' as safety fears grow among lawmakers

From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026 · last updated 3 October 2026.

President Trump may announce as early as Friday that Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton will assume a dual role as the White House's AI czar. Clayton, who oversees all 18 US intelligence agencies, is expected to keep his existing responsibilities while taking on the new AI portfolio. The White House has not confirmed the appointment, brushing off advance reports as 'baseless speculation'.

Clayton would follow venture capitalist David Sacks, who served as AI czar earlier in Trump's second term before leaving the White House.

Trump told reporters this week that he would name his pick within three or four days, following a White House meeting at which tech executives signed a voluntary AI safety pledge he called 'morally binding'.

The appointment is being made against a backdrop of warnings from AI researchers that figures within the industry believe the technology poses a lethal risk to humans within ten years — a concern that has prompted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to push for stronger oversight.