Trump Announces 'AI Force' and Plans to Name an AI Czar, Offering No Details on Its Authority

Overview

President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he intends to establish an “AI Force” and appoint a new artificial intelligence lead, while continuing to resist calls for stricter regulation of advanced AI models, according to Nextgov/FCW. The announcement, posted to Truth Social on Saturday, marks “a notable shift from his recent insistence that the rapidly growing technology sector does not need new guardrails,” according to Newsweek.

What We Know

In the Truth Social post, Trump blamed “Radical Left Dumocrats” for growing concerns about data center deployments and unchecked AI development risks, writing that his administration “will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry,” according to Nextgov/FCW. He added that the administration would instead “cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows,” while also “looking for BAD” and relying on existing criminal and civil laws to address wrongdoing, according to Newsweek.

“For this purpose, I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force, which has been a tremendous SUCCESS, in my First Term,” Trump wrote, adding that he would soon name an AI “Czar,” for whom “Only High I.Q. individuals need apply,” according to Newsweek. In the same post, Trump predicted AI could account for “as much as 25% of our Country’s GDP,” according to Newsweek.

No structural details. Trump’s proposal did not describe the AI Force’s structure, authorities, or staffing, and the White House declined to comment on its mission and role, according to Nextgov/FCW. David Sacks, who served as Trump’s AI and crypto czar until March 2026, reshared the president’s post and agreed that pausing AI development “would not make America safer” and would “hand the frontier to China,” according to Nextgov/FCW.

Administration reaction. Michael Kratsios, who heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, appeared on Fox News Sunday and said Trump’s post reflects “how important it is that we as an administration coordinate,” so that “this great technological innovation that’s transforming the country” continues driving economic growth, according to Nextgov/FCW. Kratsios added: “these implications of AI spread across so many different agencies, so being able to have someone at the White House to be able to work on all those issues across the agencies is really critical,” per Nextgov/FCW.

Skepticism over the Space Force comparison. Philip Reiner, CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Security and Technology, said the Space Force analogy means “you get the shape of an answer, but without the substance,” according to Nextgov/FCW. Space Force was created during Trump’s first term only after Congress passed it as part of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, Reiner noted: “Space Force works because Congress can give it a doctrine, a budget, a personnel system, but there’s no equivalent for AI. It’s a capability that cuts across every domain,” per Nextgov/FCW. He suggested the AI Force might still end up resembling Space Force in Pentagon oversight, saying “this is more of an actual [Defense Department] lane, is the sense that you get,” according to Nextgov/FCW.

A spokesperson for Americans for Responsible Innovation said “poll after poll shows the American public is alarmed by recent warnings from AI developers and whistleblowers as well as the rogue AI incidents that took place this summer,” adding “there’s pressure on the President to do something, and that’s what this announcement could be designed to address,” according to Nextgov/FCW. Earlier this month, the Institute for Security and Technology released a survey of current and former national security officials finding that respondents believed there was a “10% chance or higher” that an AI model would “operate outside human control within the next decade,” per Nextgov/FCW.

John Walsh, chief technology officer for government and critical infrastructure at IGEL, told Newsweek in an emailed statement: “The opportunity is not simply to create another government organization. It is to establish [and] create an environment that drives the ecosystem bringing government, industry, researchers, standards bodies together and ultimately insurers together around measurable AI safety and security,” according to Newsweek. Walsh pointed to the automotive safety industry as a model for regulation “where products can be independently evaluated against defined security requirements and certifications recognized internationally,” and argued that “safety and security should become competitive advantages,” per Newsweek.

Congressional context. The announcement follows growing bipartisan pressure for AI oversight in Congress. Representatives Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, and Nathaniel Moran, a Texas Republican, have introduced legislation that would require AI developers to maintain the ability to slow, suspend, or shut down advanced AI systems, and would let the Secretary of Homeland Security order a shutdown if a system is deemed capable of causing catastrophic harm, according to Newsweek.

The AI Force announcement comes days after Trump rejected Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call for the industry to slow AI development, writing in a September 14 Truth Social post that “the only controls or ‘guardrails’ the U.S. needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT,” as previously reported by The Machine Herald.

What We Don’t Know

Trump has not named who will serve as AI czar, nor has his administration described the AI Force’s structure, budget, personnel, or legal authority, according to Nextgov/FCW and Newsweek. It is also unclear whether the AI Force would fall under the Defense Department, an existing civilian agency, or a new organization altogether.