Trump Puts Intelligence Chief Jay Clayton in Charge of AI as Bessent Tells Lab CEOs to Slow Down
· TexaHub · Regulation & Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Geopolitics & Tech
Jay Clayton will chair a White House AI task force due to report in 120 days, while Scott Bessent told AI CEOs seeking regulation that they should slow down themselves.
Clayton named to lead a new AI task force
US President Donald Trump has appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the administration's AI czar, with Clayton leading a newly created body called the Super Intelligence Force [1]. The appointment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on 3 October [2][3]. According to a senior White House official cited by the Journal, the role effectively makes Clayton the president's artificial intelligence coordinator [3].
The task force has 120 days to produce a report assessing the risks and opportunities of AI and recommending what role the federal government should play [1]. Trump, who prefers the term "super intelligence", said the body would manage the government's engagement with consumers, religious organisations, AI companies and other stakeholders, and wrote that it aims to "ensure that America continues to lead the World in Super Intelligence" [1]. Clayton was quoted as saying: "The president requested the formation of a group to ensure that we maintain our leadership in superintelligence and prioritize the interests of the American people." [2]
The panel's other leaders include Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor [1]. Clayton is a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York [2]. Reports differ on the timing of his move to intelligence: one account says he was confirmed by the Senate as Director of National Intelligence in July, while a wire report says he was appointed intelligence chief in August [2][1]. This is Trump's second AI czar appointment, after the venture capitalist David Sacks held the role [1], and one report says Sacks's tenure ended in March 2026 [2].
Bessent rejects calls for Washington to slow the labs
On the same day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticised AI leaders who are calling for government regulation during an appearance on The Axios Show [4]. Asked about Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk calling for advanced models to be slowed, Bessent replied: "Well, then they should slow down." [5]
Bessent compared executives who warn of catastrophe while seeking federal rules to a fictional villain, saying "it's kind of like Hannibal Lecter: Stop me before I kill again" [4][5]. He described the warnings as "alarmism without solutions" and said this was not leadership [4][5]. He also said: "We cannot say, 'Oh, we absolve you of responsibility, and the government's going to take responsibility.'" [5]
Bessent nonetheless said the labs "have been very cooperative", citing OpenAI's decision to shelve a new model because of safety concerns raised in internal testing [4]. Business Insider reported that the White House had responded to the CEOs' calls by convening them for a voluntary self-policing pledge, which Bessent described as successful [4]. He promoted what was described as a "safe acceleration" approach and opposed increased government intervention, while acknowledging the need to prepare for potential risks [6]. On China, he said Chinese AI is "80%, 90% as powerful" as US systems but lacks comparable safety measures [5].
The Amodei essay behind the dispute
The calls Bessent was responding to trace back to a 3,800-word essay Amodei published on 12 September urging the AI industry to decelerate [7]. In it he wrote: "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of A.I. models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain." [7] He proposed third-party assessments by embedded evaluators and coordination on safety standards among democratic nations, and warned that AI "left unchecked" could "outrun our ability to understand and control these systems" [7]. Business Insider described this as a call last month for an "organized slowdown" among AI companies, and said Amodei specifically asked for US government regulation [4].
The appeal has drawn criticism from free-market commentators as well as from the administration. In an op-ed for the Independent Institute, Christopher J. Calton noted that Amodei had cited "cyberattacks," "bioterrorism" and "serious economic disruption", and quoted his warning that "A race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives, can make these risks more acute" [8]. Calton argued that large companies seeking regulation is historically routine and that such requests tend to suppress competition, drawing on examples from the railway and meat-packing industries [8].
What the two moves signal
The administration has favoured a lighter regulatory approach to AI, with Trump arguing that excessive oversight could harm US competitiveness against China [1]. Some researchers have warned that AI could pose risks to human safety within a decade, prompting lawmakers to call for stronger action [1].
Read together, and as interpretation rather than reported fact, the two announcements suggest a government that wants a formal process for assessing AI risk but is not yet willing to take on the role of brake that some lab leaders have requested. Placing the task force under the intelligence chief, with an FTC chair and a Pentagon technology official among its leaders, frames AI as a national security and competition question as much as a consumer one [1]. Bessent's comments indicate that, for now, the Treasury expects the companies themselves to carry responsibility for pacing their work [5][6]. The task force's report, due within 120 days, is likely to be the first clear indication of whether that position changes [1].
Sources
[1] Trump names intelligence chief Clayton as AI czar, to head task force — SRN News, 4 Oct 2026
[2] Trump AI News: Jay Clayton Lined Up as New AI Czar, Heading up Super Intelligence Taskforce — Yahoo News (99Bitcoins), 4 Oct 2026
[3] WSJ: Jay Clayton to lead Trump's AI task force — UA.News, 4 Oct 2026
[4] Scott Bessent compares AI CEOs who warn of catastrophe to Hannibal Lecter: 'Stop me before I kill again' — Business Insider (via Yahoo News), 3 Oct 2026
[5] Bessent Tells AI CEOs Seeking Regulation to 'Slow Down' — AI Weekly, 4 Oct 2026
[6] Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Tells AI CEOs to Slow Down — HuggingNews, 3 Oct 2026
[7] Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Calls For AI Slowdown — Slashdot, 12 Sep 2026
[8] AI Leaders Are Asking to Be Regulated. This Is Nothing New. — Independent Institute, 3 Oct 2026