David Sachs plays the White House’s AI and cryptocurrency czar

David Sachs, the venture capitalist and tech billionaire who has become Silicon Valley’s chief advocate inside the White House and the chief architect of its aggressive AI policy initiatives, revealed Thursday that he is no longer a private government employee — and thus no longer a special adviser to President Donald Trump on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.

Sachs’s formal status as a senior government official allowed him to work simultaneously in the private sector and in government, but for no more than 130 days, raising questions about why he remained in the job more than a year after his appointment. but In an interview with Bloomberg TV While discussing the White House’s recent legislative proposal for an AI framework, Sachs revealed that he has now “exhausted that time,” and will now focus his energy on co-chairing the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

The White House announced earlier this week Several new appointments to the Advisory Boardincluding other tech executives such as Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreessen, Jensen Huang, and Sergey Brin. Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will also be co-chair.

“I believe that by moving forward as co-chair of PCAST, I can now make recommendations not only on artificial intelligence, but also on a wide range of technology topics,” he told interviewer Ed Ludlow. When asked, Sachs made clear that his role would not involve coordinating with government and federal agencies: “It is intended to advise the president and the White House, the executive offices of the president. So, yes, we will study the issues, make recommendations. That’s the main goal of this, which is to advise.” (The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

As an AI and cryptocurrency official, Sachs, who held a major Silicon Valley fundraiser for Trump in 2024, had direct access to the Oval Office and wielded enormous power in shaping White House technology policy. But his aggressive approach to policy making has inadvertently led the Trump administration into several unpopular policy fights. His attempt to implement a blanket ban on AI jurisdiction laws, Both in Congress and Then by executive orderInstead, it alienated Republican governors and populists from the MAGA movement, and made many other potential policy victories politically toxic. “He failed to take preventative action,” said Michael Toscano, executive director of the conservative Institute for Family Studies. “He pressured the White House to wage a culture war against his constituents. He prevented him from achieving simple victories like child safety. He was a political disaster.” Edge. “He may be singularly responsible for the loss of the White House to his populist bent.”