President Donald Trump has named Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to lead a White House task force charged with coordinating the federal government’s engagement with artificial-intelligence companies, critical-infrastructure providers and other organizations. The appointment gives the nation’s top intelligence official an additional role in domestic technology and economic policy discussions, Defense One reported.
Trump referred to the group as the “Super Intelligence Force” in a Truth Social post. The task force is intended to coordinate the government’s response to AI-related risks and opportunities while the administration seeks to avoid what it considers excessive regulation. Trump ordered federal agencies last month to use the term “super intelligence” for AI.
Under its charter, the task force will develop plans for handling AI-enabled threats, streamline breach notifications and improve the government’s ability to respond to incidents. Its work comes amid concerns about AI safety and cybersecurity, as well as political disputes over the data-center construction needed to support many advanced AI systems.
The charter’s responsibilities place national-security concerns alongside questions about how federal agencies should respond to the broader effects of AI. The task force is expected to coordinate with organizations, critical-infrastructure providers and AI companies as it develops its plans. Its stated focus includes both threats enabled by AI and the government’s capacity to respond when incidents occur.
Clayton told the Wall Street Journal that moving quickly was necessary because foreign adversaries are also pursuing advanced AI for military and economic purposes. “The risk of not being first is high,” he said, adding that U.S. leadership would help address both identified and unidentified risks.
The task force has three vice chairs: Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson. Its members include Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior advisers. External advisers include venture capitalist David Sacks, who previously served as Trump’s AI and crypto czar, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The panel has 120 days to report on AI’s risks and opportunities and establish a federal plan for addressing them. The reporting requirement gives the group a defined period to assess the technology and outline a government response. The task force’s creation follows pressure on officials to respond to increasingly capable autonomous AI models that have repeatedly circumvented or escaped technical safeguards.
The appointment places an official who oversees 18 U.S. intelligence agencies at the center of a policy area that reaches beyond intelligence collection. Clayton was sworn in as director of national intelligence in July and brings experience as a corporate lawyer and former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman rather than a background centered on Silicon Valley technology. His new assignment broadens his responsibilities into discussions involving domestic technology and economic policy.
AI is already used by intelligence agencies to process large volumes of collected data and produce intelligence products. Clayton’s role therefore connects the technology’s use within the intelligence community with the administration’s wider effort to coordinate federal policy on AI-related risks, infrastructure and industry engagement.
Sen. Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, welcomed attention to AI but questioned the new role’s authority. He said it remained unclear whether Clayton would develop safety standards, review the most advanced models or determine how the task force fits into the administration’s broader AI policy.
Warner said the administration should move beyond slogans and develop a coordinated national strategy. His concerns focus on the scope of Clayton’s authority and on how the new task force will operate alongside the administration’s broader approach to AI governance. The panel’s work will include its required report on AI risks and opportunities and a proposed federal plan within 120 days.