US President Donald Trump Appoints National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton as Head of Government Super Intelligence Affairs
US President Donald Trump has appointed National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton as the head of government artificial intelligence affairs, tasking him with leading a White House group called the Super Intelligence Force. The group is required to report on risks, opportunities, and the responsibilities of the federal government within 120 days. Reuters cited an interview with Clayton from the Wall Street Journal on October 3.
Clayton stated that the president has asked to assemble a team to ensure that the US remains at the forefront of super intelligence and prioritizes the interests of Americans. The risks of not being first are significant. The charter requires the development of a plan to address super intelligence threats while avoiding excessive regulation and regulatory capture to prevent stifling innovation and competition. The group will review existing laws, actions Congress can take, and how the government currently receives reports of intrusions, hacks, and model jailbreaks. The deadline may be extended, and functions may be transferred to another agency.
The three vice chairs are Emil Michael, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, responsible for liaising with AI companies; Scott Kupor, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, responsible for liaising with critical infrastructure and other industries; and Andrew Ferguson, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, responsible for consumers, as well as faith, children, privacy, and speech-related groups. Members include Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
This is Trump's second appointment of an AI coordinator during his second term. The previous appointee was venture capitalist David Sacks. Clayton took office as National Intelligence Director in August, having previously served as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump's first term and later as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He stated on Wednesday that super intelligence is a national security issue and opposed the suspension of model development by US companies.
On September 29, the White House held a closed-door meeting with OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Industry participants agreed to voluntary principles, including internal controls on model development, third-party reviews, and reporting safety measures to the board. Clayton mentioned that the mechanisms could be discussed in the context of the risk frameworks used by the Federal Reserve and the SEC in the financial industry.
In terms of market mechanisms, there is no new funding. The event is driven by the 120-day reporting task, not procurement. Regulatory attention is shifting from securities enforcement to model companies and intelligence systems. Beneficiaries are model companies seeking federal endorsement without wanting new legal restrictions, while those under pressure are laboratories named for the suspension faction and contracts and documents still using the old terminology for AI.
Source: Public Information
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Clayton served as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020. In December 2020, the Commission sued Ripple Labs, claiming that XRP was an unregistered security. The case extended beyond his term and became a landmark lawsuit regarding the legal status of cryptocurrencies in the industry. He then served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York before becoming National Intelligence Director in 2026, overseeing 18 intelligence units. This time, he adds a 120-day super intelligence group.
There is no new budget. Personnel have been reassigned from the position of intelligence director to lead the interdepartmental group. Michael liaises with companies, Kupor with infrastructure, and Ferguson with consumer and speech groups. Vance, Hegseth, Bessent, and Wiles are among the members. The motivation is that the executive order on September 29 has already changed the official terminology to super intelligence, and the closed-door meeting on Tuesday secured voluntary principles. The report is to be written within existing authorities, without drafting new regulations first.
The previous coordinator, David Sacks, came from venture capital, focusing on industry advice. Clayton comes from securities enforcement and intelligence. A similar structure was established after the financial crisis, where former regulators led systemic risk groups rather than industry consultants. The industry position is about controlling the entry into government, not model releases. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia have already signed on to the voluntary principles, and the suspension faction has been publicly blocked by him.
Structurally, this represents a naming and entry change within regulatory shifts. The charter specifies the need to address threats while also preventing excessive regulation. The reason for this is that model companies require federal coordination, intelligence systems need incident reporting, and the executive order needs someone who can deliver results within 120 days. Old records from securities litigation thus enter the new super intelligence group, and enforcement experience is used to price the voluntary framework.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
First change the name, then form a 120-day team
Voluntary principles enter, new laws are blocked by the charter first
Old enforcement records can be exchanged for entry into new fields