President Trump on Sunday handed the federal government's artificial intelligence portfolio to Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton — a man who already runs 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and previously chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission — putting the technology's future under the grip of a figure who straddles Wall Street and the surveillance apparatus.

The central question for ordinary Americans: will AI policy be shaped to protect free speech and individual liberty, or will it serve as another instrument of institutional control? Clayton's resume — top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, SEC chair during Trump's first term, now intelligence chief doubling as AI czar — reads like a revolving-door blueprint.

Trump announced the creation of what he's calling the "Super Intelligence Force," a task force that will "coordinate the federal government's engagement with consumers, public interest groups, religious organizations, critical infrastructure providers, and super intelligence companies," according to the president's Truth Social post. The group will report directly to Trump and chief of staff Susie Wiles.

Clayton won't be alone. The task force also includes FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Pentagon chief technology officer Emil Michael, and Office of Personnel Management director Scott Kupor, according to CNN and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

At his Senate confirmation hearing to lead the intelligence community, Clayton called AI a "gamechanger" but warned it also posed "a threat." "When something's both an opportunity and a threat, you better get your arms around it," Clayton told lawmakers. The Guardian noted his remarks; what neither that outlet nor CNN explored is what "getting your arms around it" means when the man doing the grabbing also controls the country's surveillance infrastructure.

The appointment follows last week's White House meeting where Trump and six AI executives signed a voluntary accord promising to "self-police" their models. "I'm seeing tremendous self-policing, and they understand that they have to self-police," Trump told reporters. "These models are very complex and, again, I believe they're going to be used for the good." The light-touch approach lets industry write its own rules — convenient for the companies, less so for citizens who might prefer guardrails written by someone other than the people selling the product.

CNN reported that the announcement comes after "episodes that have raised widespread safety concerns tied to AI, including AI agents going rogue and attempting to hack into federal databases." Trump has dismissed AI fears before, once calling them a "hoax," and has made clear that outpacing China takes priority over public concern. CNN also noted that data centers powering the technology are already shaking up midterm races.

The AI czar role was previously held by venture capitalist David Sacks, who served until March 2026, when he hit the time limit for his "special government employee" designation. Sacks still co-chairs the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Clayton now holds two of the most powerful positions in the federal government simultaneously. The man who oversees the nation's intelligence apparatus will also dictate how the most consequential technology since the internet gets developed, regulated, and deployed. The founders debated concentrated power in taverns for a reason. Americans should be asking whether one official — with ties to Wall Street, federal law enforcement, and the intelligence community — can be trusted to put their liberty ahead of institutional convenience.