Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emerges as favorite to be Trump's 'AI czar'

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is emerging as one of the leading candidates for the new "AI czar" post that President Donald Trump plans to create, according to three sources cited by Semafor. The role aims to give "context, shape and contours" to the government's artificial intelligence policies, in Bessent's own words in a CNBC interview this week, in which he also said that humans are ultimately responsible for what AI does.

Bessent already plays a central role in the Trump administration's AI policy. This same week he held a preliminary discussion with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, ahead of the planned meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. At that meeting, Bessent and He discussed a possible "notification mechanism" between the United States and China to facilitate communication about AI incidents that pose a national security threat, as part of what Bessent described as talks toward a formal bilateral dialogue on artificial intelligence.

According to the article, Bessent became more actively involved in AI policy earlier this year, after financial institutions warned him that advanced AI systems could leave their infrastructure vulnerable, something Semafor had previously reported.

Trump's decision on who will fill the post is not settled, and the president has a reputation for picking unexpected candidates. The article notes that if Bessent were ultimately chosen, combining the role with his Treasury job would not be an obstacle: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum already simultaneously holds the title of "energy czar."

Other names floated for the position include Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and a longtime tech ally of Trump, and Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, who left venture capital firm a16z to join the government. The article also mentions that Bessent and Sean Cairncross, national cyber director and another name under consideration for the role, clashed in May over Anthropic's Mythos model, as Politico had reported.

White House spokesman Kush Desai responded to Semafor's questions by saying that any information about personnel decisions not officially announced by the administration should be considered "baseless speculation." The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Taken together, the news reflects how deeply AI policy is becoming intertwined with other portfolios in the U.S. government — from finance to cybersecurity and diplomacy with China — and how the White House still lacks a clear governance structure for artificial intelligence, with several officials of very different profiles effectively competing to coordinate that agenda.