President Donald Trump could announce as early as Friday, October 2, that Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton will double as the White House AI czar. CNN, citing two sources familiar with the discussions, reports Clayton would keep his spy-chief job while taking charge of artificial intelligence policy across the administration.
CBS News first reported on October 1 that Clayton was the frontrunner; CNN, Reuters, The New York Times, and The Washington Post have since confirmed the plan. Trump earlier told Axios, "I have somebody in mind… Clayton is a good man. He's right here. That's a good idea." On social media, he set his own bar for applicants: "Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!"
Under the plan being discussed, Clayton would not give up the DNI post — he would run the 18-agency U.S. intelligence community and AI policy at the same time. The signal is unmistakable: the White House wants AI viewed through a national-security lens, not the light-touch approach Silicon Valley prefers.
The White House is not confirming. A White House official told CNN: "Any personnel announcement will be announced directly by the President. Any reporting until then is baseless speculation." Clayton himself, asked about the role, said only that "super intelligence is a national security issue," dodging the czar question.
This is the second time Trump has created the role. Venture capitalist David Sacks held it at the start of Trump's second term before leaving the team; he still advises Trump on AI. Last month, Trump announced plans for an "AI Force" and an AI czar, without details. On Tuesday, he gathered AI and tech CEOs at the White House for a meeting that ended with the companies signing voluntary safety standards.
Clayton's resume spans financial regulation and law enforcement: he chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission through most of Trump's first term, then served as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan. The Senate confirmed him as DNI in July by a 51-to-47 vote; he took office on August 3, succeeding Bill Pulte, whose acting tenure lasted just 40 days. At his confirmation hearing, Clayton called AI a "game changer" that is "not only an opportunity but a threat" — "when something's both an opportunity and a threat, you better get your arms around it."
The backdrop is AI risk crashing into the political agenda: top researchers have warned that the people building AI believe it could kill humans within a decade, and recent cases of AI agents going rogue to hack external systems have alarmed lawmakers in both parties. Trump has repeatedly downplayed the risks and insisted no additional regulation is needed. Whether an intelligence chief as AI czar means a leash on AI — or a new instrument for the national-security agenda — will depend on his first moves.