Jay Clayton, Reported Pick for Trump’s AI Czar, Has a Deep Crypto Enforcement Record

Former SEC chairman Jay Clayton is reportedly on the verge of being named the Trump administration’s artificial intelligence czar. Clayton, who now serves as director of national intelligence after a stint as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, did not respond to a request for comment. The role looks different from the one David Sacks held, when he covered both crypto and AI. It would center on the administration’s AI Force, announced by Trump in September and compared to his Space Force, though the exact duties remain unclear. Crypto does not appear to be on the agenda; since Sacks left in March, adviser Patrick Witt has led White House crypto efforts.

Clayton’s Crypto Crackdown at the SEC

The regulation by enforcement approach that the industry later blasted under Gary Gensler began under Clayton. In 2017 he created the SEC’s Cyber Unit and began policing initial coin offerings. By 2020, the agency counted 57 cases against digital assets, blockchain firms and ICOs. As he left, he started the high-profile fight against Ripple over $1.3 billion in XRP, which current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins’s agency dropped last year.

Clayton’s AI and Apollo Background

Before returning to government, Clayton served on the board of Apollo Global Management, which has put billions into AI and digital infrastructure. In a CNBC interview, he called AI a national security issue but rejected pausing its development.