President Trump’s next artificial intelligence adviser will enter a rapidly transforming technology sector while facing an intensifying Washington debate over how deeply the federal government should intervene.
Trump said Sept. 19 that he planned to name a new AI adviser and establish an “AI Force.” The incoming official—described as a “high IQ” technology expert—will inherit a far different policy environment from the one venture capitalist David Sacks encountered when he became Trump’s first AI and crypto czar in late 2024.
Sacks left the administration in March after reaching the 130-day limit for service as a special government employee.
The appointment comes as leading AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic advocate a larger government role, while members of Congress work on proposals to regulate the country’s most advanced artificial intelligence laboratories.
Several prominent figures have reportedly emerged as potential candidates to lead policy for an industry valued in the trillions of dollars:
Sriram Krishnan
The White House’s senior AI policy adviser was included among TIME Magazine’s “The Architects of AI” in its 2025 Persons of the Year issue. Born in Chennai, India, he is a venture capitalist who has held senior positions at Microsoft, Meta and xAI.
Krishnan helped develop the administration’s AI Action Plan, a framework centered on reducing regulation, expanding the technology sector and accelerating the construction of data centers.
Trump has also publicly credited Krishnan’s influence. At a White House holiday gathering, the president said, “[W]ithout him things, certainly on AI, would not function well,” according to The Washington Post’s June report.
After Sacks left the czar position, Krishnan assumed a more formal role at the National Economic Council, according to Axios, and remained there until his own departure in June.
Scott Bessent
The Treasury secretary has repeatedly been identified in reports as the leading contender. He has also argued that AI companies should be held accountable for the actions and consequences of the systems they create.
Bessent has taken a growing role in artificial intelligence policy. This week, he spoke with Chinese officials about the possibility of creating a US-China communication channel for AI-related incidents that could pose a national security threat.
“The best way to guarantee safety is that the creators are liable for what they build and generate,” Bessent told the House Financial Services Committee during testimony.
However, Bessent rejected a Reuters report saying Trump had already offered him the position, telling Fox News the claim was “fake news.”
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Sean Cairncross
As National Cyber Director, he has played a central role in the Trump administration’s approach to AI policy since 2025.
Trump previously appointed him to lead the US foreign aid agency Millennium Challenge Corp., where he served as CEO from 2019 to 2021. In 2016, he was elected chief operating officer of the Republican National Committee.
Cairncross has reportedly disagreed with Bessent, arguing that the Treasury Department has taken an excessively prominent role in AI policy, according to an Axios report published June 6.
Some administration officials have questioned whether the former Republican Party operative is prepared to oversee regulation of frontier AI companies. One anonymous official previously told Politico that Cairncross was “in over his head.”
Michael Kratsios
As director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, he has become one of Trump’s most influential technology advisers. He has also opposed efforts to slow the development of frontier artificial intelligence.
“The frontier of intelligence is advancing rapidly. That is not a reason to pause its further development or to constrain it with new global governance structures,” Kratsios said in a United Nations address Wednesday.
“Only through an open, cooperative ecosystem built on sovereign infrastructure and domestic capacity can the world realize this technology’s potential. US international efforts seek to build that capacity by sharing our technology and providing the tools for adoption.”
He added: “You cannot govern a technology you do not understand. This body and others like it should focus on sharing best practices to build domestic capacity, not establishing a global regulatory regime.”
Whoever gets the job will face pressure from both the AI industry and lawmakers as Washington struggles to determine how to regulate technology that is advancing faster than the government can write rules for it.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, is a vocal proponent of strict AI regulation and is pushing, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), for the “Artificial Intelligence Risk Evaluation Act.”
The Show Me State senator said he wants any new AI czar to put American citizens first.
“Somebody who’s got everyday citizens’ best interests at heart,” Hawley told The Post.
“But Congress should do something too. We should pass a bill limiting data centers. We ought to pass legislation that would stop AI chatbots from pushing sexual material to kids. We ought to pass legislation that would give everyday people the right to get into court against these companies. We should not just sit back and spectate.”
