Trump names intelligence chief Jay Clayton as new White House AI czar
<p>Clayton had said AI was a ‘gamechanger’ but also posed ‘a threat’ during his confirmation hearing</p><p>Donald Trump on Sunday named <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/04/jay-clayton-sworn-in-direct
Trump names intelligence chief Jay Clayton as new White House AI czar Clayton had said AI was a ‘gamechanger’ but also posed ‘a threat’ during his confirmation hearing
Donald Trump on Sunday named Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence , to also serve as the new White House AI czar.
Clayton, who leads the US’s 18 intelligence agencies , previously served as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and led the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term.
During his Senate confirmation hearing , Clayton said AI was a “gamechanger” but it also posed “a threat”.
“When something’s both an opportunity and a threat, you better get your arms around it,” Clayton told lawmakers when asked about AI.
CBS News was the first to report that Clayton would be appointed White House AI czar.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump announced that Clayton would lead what the US president called “the Super Intelligence Force (SIF)”.
Trump’s post also said the SIF would “coordinate the federal government’s engagement with consumers, public interest groups, religious organizations, critical infrastructure providers, and super intelligence companies”.
Among those reacting on Sunday to Trump’s invoking the term “super intelligence” was SpaceX chief Elon Musk . Musk said on his social media platform X that SI was “better” than AI – and that he was renaming his aerospace company’s AI unit from SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI.
Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is vice-chair of the Senate select committee on intelligence, cautiously welcomed the appointment of Clayton, while noting that “the administration has resisted meaningful safeguards without offering a serious alternative for addressing the national security risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems”.
“I look forward to working with Director Clayton on ensuring the United States stays ahead of China and other adversaries, strengthening the security and resilience of our most advanced AI systems, and establishing rigorous testing and safeguards so that increasingly powerful systems remain secure, reliable, and under human control,” Warner added.
In September, Trump announced he was creating an “AI Force” and a czar to oversee the technology’s growth and monitor for “bad” development. The announcement came after tech industry leaders warned that AI was developing too rapidly to control and that it could harm humans.
The president has largely brushed aside concerns about AI development and the construction of datacenters, which power the technology.
Trump has insisted continued development is paramount to defeating China in the global AI race.