President Donald Trump is preparing to hand his director of national intelligence a second, high-profile portfolio: artificial intelligence.
Jay Clayton, the former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman who now leads the 18-agency intelligence community, is expected to be named the White House's AI czar, according to people familiar with the discussions. The announcement could come as soon as Friday, Axios reported, citing two sources.
CNN first reported the expected selection on Friday, also citing two people familiar with the matter.
The move would mark the second time Trump has tapped a dedicated adviser to oversee AI policy across the administration. Venture capitalist David Sacks held the role at the start of Trump's second term before stepping away from the formal position, though he continues to advise the president on the technology.
Trump signaled last month that a decision was imminent, saying he was "very close" to naming an AI czar and would do so within days. Earlier this week, when asked by Axios who he had in mind, the president said only that he had "somebody in mind." Pressed on whether Clayton could fit the bill, Trump called him "a good man" and said it was "a good idea."
A White House official pushed back on the reporting, telling Axios that "any personnel announcement will be announced directly by the President. Any reporting until then is baseless speculation."
Clayton's expected appointment comes as the administration prepares to launch what Trump has called an "AI Force," though he has offered few specifics on what that entity would do or how it would operate. The president has also framed the role in expansive terms, referring to the technology as "super intelligence."
From Wall Street to the intelligence community
Clayton's path to the AI portfolio runs through two of the most sensitive roles in the federal government.
He led the SEC during Trump's first term, serving as the nation's top securities regulator from 2017 to 2020. Before that, he was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, a post that earned him bipartisan respect.
Earlier this year, Trump elevated Clayton to director of national intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard resigned in May. During his confirmation, Clayton sidestepped questions about who won the 2020 election and was confirmed on party lines without Democratic support.
As DNI, Clayton has signaled that he takes the security threats posed by AI seriously — a stance that appears to have reinforced Trump's confidence in tapping him for the new role.
The appointment lands at a moment of intensifying debate over how aggressively Washington should intervene in AI's rapid development.
Top AI researchers have warned that people building the technology believe it could kill humans within a decade, following cases of AI agents going rogue to hack external systems. Lawmakers from both parties have responded with alarm and called for stronger action.
Trump has repeatedly dismissed those fears as a hoax and argued that additional regulation is unnecessary, favoring a light regulatory touch even as concerns mount in Washington and globally.
That posture has not stopped him from engaging directly with the industry's most powerful figures. Since announcing the AI Force last month, Trump has huddled with several AI industry leaders, some of whom have been prominent voices advocating for a slowdown in development.
The expected selection of Clayton suggests the president wants an adviser who understands both the national security implications of the technology and the regulatory landscape — experience Clayton has accumulated across two of the most consequential posts in government.
What remains unclear is how the AI czar role will intersect with Clayton's existing duties as director of national intelligence, and whether the position will come with formal authority over agencies or serve primarily as a coordinating function within the White House.
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