President-elect Donald Trump announced he created a new role for his administration, White House Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Czar.
Filling the role will be tech entrepreneur and podcast host David Sacks.
Sacks “will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness. David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas,” Trump said in his announcement.
In this July 15, 2024, file photo, David Sacks, CEO of Yammer, speaks during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
“He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship. He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.,” Trump continued”
“David will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology,” the president-elect said.
Sacks is a longtime Silicon Valley ally of Elon Musk and invested in SpaceX. They worked together at PayPal, a company in which Sacks is a co-founder of and later became the COO. During that time, Musk was the CEO until 2000 when Confinity went through a rebrand and became PayPal.
In this Feb. 22, 2006, file photo, David Sacks and Elon Musk attend “Thank You For Smoking” After Party at Elaine’s in New York.
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images, FILE
Sacks held major fundraisers for the Trump-Vance ticket, including one at his home for Trump in San Francisco, California in June.
Trump did an interview with Sacks on his “All In” podcast earlier this year, in which he advocated for “automatically” giving noncitizens in the U.S. green cards when they graduate from college — not just people who go through the vetting process.
“[What] I want to do, and what I will do, is you graduate from a college, I think you should get, automatically as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country. That includes junior colleges, too,” Trump said during the episode.
Trump’s response came after one of the hosts, Jason Calacanis, asked Trump if he could promise to “give us more ability to import the best and brightest around the world to America.”
