Jay Clayton to Lead Trump’s AI Task Force

President Donald Trump appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to lead the White House’s new Super Intelligence Force. The task force has 120 days to study artificial intelligence and recommend how the U.S. government should manage it.

The group will examine AI’s potential benefits and risks, including national security threats, cyberattacks, privacy concerns, consumer protection and reports of AI-related hacks and security breaches.

The task force will review whether current U.S. laws address the rapid development of AI and whether Congress should consider new legislation. The administration has said it wants to limit risks without rules that could restrict innovation or competition.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson will serve as one of the task force’s vice chairs. His work will cover children’s safety, privacy, free speech and other effects of AI on the public.

Clayton’s review will address the administration’s goal of keeping the United States competitive in AI while protecting national security and consumers. Its recommendations could affect federal oversight, security standards and future legislation.

Clayton is a lawyer and former government official. He served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first administration, from May 2017 to December 2020. Before joining the SEC, he spent more than 20 years at Sullivan & Cromwell, where he advised companies on investments, mergers, corporate rules and regulatory matters. His work included cybersecurity issues.

Clayton later served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He became director of national intelligence in August 2026 and oversees the U.S. intelligence community. His new assignment adds AI policy to his government responsibilities.

Clayton’s SEC record also connects his appointment to the cryptocurrency industry. In December 2020, the agency sued Ripple, alleging that the company sold XRP as an unregistered security. The case became a major legal dispute in the digital-asset sector.

Clayton later worked with cryptocurrency companies and expressed more favorable views of Bitcoin. His SEC actions remain a source of criticism among some XRP supporters, while his later work has led some digital-asset participants to view his position as more supportive than it was during his time at the agency.