Trump Announces Plans for an 'AI Force' and a New AI Czar

President Trump said on Saturday, September 19, 2026, that he is forming an “AI Force” and will soon name an AI czar, CNN reported. He made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, comparing the new body to the Space Force he created during his first term.

“For this purpose, I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force, which has been a tremendous SUCCESS, in my First Term,” Trump wrote, according to CNN. He added that he would announce the AI “Czar” in the near future.

Growth first, courts for harms

Trump said he would not hinder the industry’s growth. “We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry,” he wrote, adding that the US is leading China and the rest of the world and that he intends to keep it that way. At the same time, he said harmful uses of AI could be handled through the existing criminal and civil justice system, writing that “we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily.”

CNN reported that Trump repeated his view that fears over AI amount to a hoax and said a “SICK conspiracy” was afoot to undermine the technology.

What was left unanswered

The post did not explain what the AI czar would do or what form the AI Force would take. CNN said it had asked the White House about the czar’s duties, whether the president had anyone in mind, and whether the AI Force would be a branch of the military like the Space Force, which in 2019 became the first new US military service since 1947.

The White House has had an AI czar before. CNN noted that venture capitalist David Sacks served as Trump’s AI and cryptocurrency czar until March, when he stepped down after reaching his time limit as a special government employee; he now chairs the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

The pressure behind the announcement

The announcement came amid mounting pressure on the White House and Congress to adopt AI safeguards. That week, Sen. John Kennedy’s kill-switch bill stalled on the Senate floor (read our report) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an AI safety executive order (read our report). CNN also reported that former President Barack Obama said government has to regulate the technology.

CNN said AI was expected to feature at diplomatic gatherings the following week, including a high-level event the administration planned on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and that a White House official said AI safety would be on the agenda when Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

What came next

The czar was named about two weeks later. On October 4, Trump said Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton would serve as White House AI czar and lead a new “Super Intelligence Force”; see our report on the Clayton appointment.