President Trump is expected to name intelligence director Jay Clayton as White House AI czar, pairing spy-agency leadership with a technology the administration calls a national security issue.
A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that Trump will most likely make the announcement on social media as early as Friday, after teasing the move this week.
Clayton would keep his post as Director of National Intelligence while adding the artificial intelligence portfolio. The expected dual role follows a lengthy White House meeting Tuesday with executives from leading technology companies.
That sequence puts AI policy under an official already overseeing the nation’s spy agencies, and it comes as the administration describes superintelligence in national-security terms rather than as a pure commercial or regulatory file.
Clayton took over as Director of National Intelligence in August after Senate confirmation. He previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission in Trump’s first term. He was also a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell.
On Wednesday, after the White House tech meeting, Clayton told CNBC the administration would take a “whole-of-government approach” to the technology.
He put the stakes in plain language.
Clayton said:
"Superintelligence is a national security issue."
He added:
"That was something that was recognized yesterday by not just the industry leaders, but everybody in the room."
Those comments tie the expected AI assignment directly to the intelligence brief he already holds. The meeting with top AI company executives set the table; the CNBC interview the next day spelled out the frame.
Trump has pushed back on calls for stronger safety regulations. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he pointed to industry behavior and the difficulty of outside control over complex models.
Trump said:
"I think I’m seeing tremendous self-policing, and they understand that they have to self-police, and it’s very hard for somebody to come outside, get into these. These models are very complex, and again, I believe they’re going to be used for the good."
He continued:
"And when they’re not, we’re going to be able to nab them. But there’s going to be a tremendous self-policing aspect."
The president largely brushed off broader alarm about AI threats while insisting the government can act when models are misused. The expected Clayton appointment fits that posture: keep the technology moving, treat advanced capabilities as a security matter, and rely on industry discipline backed by enforcement when needed.
David Sacks served as special adviser for AI and Crypto from January 2025 through March of this year. He now serves as co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Clayton’s expected assignment would place day-to-day White House AI responsibility with the sitting DNI rather than a standalone tech adviser. Employees at some AI firms have issued warnings that the technology could put humanity at risk. The White House meeting and Clayton’s follow-up remarks treated those stakes as a security problem for government and industry together, not as a cue for sweeping new outside mandates.
A White House official declined to confirm personnel moves in advance.
The official said:
"Any personnel announcement will be announced directly by the President. Any reporting until then is baseless speculation."
The reporting still stands on the source familiar with the matter: the president teased the choice this week, and an announcement could come on social media as soon as Friday. Until Trump speaks, the official line is that only he makes the call public.
Clayton’s résumé tracks the assignment. SEC chair, Southern District prosecutor, DNI, and now the expected AI portfolio beside that intelligence post. The administration is putting a national-security veteran on a technology it already calls a national-security issue, after sitting down with the companies building it and stating a whole-of-government approach without racing to heavier outside regulation.
Competent people, clear priorities, and industry held to account beats panic-driven rulemaking every time.
