Trump’s new Executive Order on AI: Here’s who will be crafting the plan
Michael Kratsios, pictured here with President Trump, will work with AI czar David O. Sacks to craft the White House’s new AI policy, which is expected in July 2025. (White House photo)
Jan. 24, 2025 — Three days after rescinding President Biden’s Executive Order on artificial intelligence, President Trump issued his own EO on AI.
The new order, titled Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, instructs federal officials to prepare a plan “to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance” within 180 days.
The goal of the plan, the EO added, should be “to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”
Trump to Sacks and Kratsios: Come up with a plan
The new EO tasks a handful of specific White House officials with creating an AI plan within the next six months. Leading the effort will be:
Michael Kratsios, Trump’s nominee to direct the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
David O. Sacks, the White House’s crypto/AI czar
An Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA)
It’s unclear exactly who the APNSA official is or will be. Michael Waltz, a former Florida Congressman, is Trump’s National Security Advisor, but it’s likely he will have more pressing geopolitical issues on his hands. Michael Anton and Sebastian Gorka are the White House’s deputy national security advisors, and it seems more likely that one of them may have a voice in the AI plan.
What is clear is that Kratsios and Sacks will likely lead the AI effort.
Michael Kratsios began his political career as an intern for Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) before moving on to work for Thiel Capital, the venture capital firm founded by Peter Thiel. Thiel, a co-founder of PayPay with Elon Musk in the late 1990s, was an early Trump backer in 2016 and retains close ties to Vice President J.D. Vance.
Kratsios was the White House’s Chief Technology Officer during Trump’s first term. Tech Policy Press has a full story on his current nomination here.
David O. Sacks, an investor and tech entrepreneur, was also an integral player in PayPal’s late-1990s startup era. As a venture capitalist, his Craft Ventures invested early in Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, AirBnB, and Peter Thiel’s Palantir Technologies. President Trump appointed him as the White House crypto and AI advisor late last year.