Trump says he is forming an AI Force and naming an AI czar
Evan / Policy and Open Source desk
Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Saturday 19 September 2026 that he is forming an AI Force and will name an AI czar, and put artificial intelligence at possibly as much as 25% of US gross domestic product.
The announcement commits the administration to an institutional posture rather than a policy. It names a body, a role and an economic claim, and supplies no remit for any of them, at a point when federal AI oversight remains the open question that individual states have started answering on their own.
What the post says
Trump wrote that the new body follows a precedent he set in 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.” On the appointment, he wrote that he would be announcing the AI czar in the near future, ending the sentence: “Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!”
On the regulatory stance, he said his administration will “not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry” and will instead “cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows.” On enforcement, he said misconduct can be addressed through the criminal and civil justice system that already exists. He again rejected calls to slow AI development, which Fortune reported he compared to politically driven hoaxes.
What the announcement does not specify
Fox News reported that Trump gave no details about the structure, authority or membership of the proposed AI Force, and named no candidates for the czar role. CNN reported that it had asked the White House whether the AI Force would be a branch of the military, and that the post repeated his position that fears over AI amount to a hoax.
The 25% GDP figure was stated as a possibility rather than a projection, in the phrasing “possibly as much as 25% of our Country’s GDP.” No timeframe accompanied it.
Where this sits against state action
The federal position described here is non-intervention with an institution attached. It arrives a day after California governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing state officials to recommend changes to California’s AI safety laws by 16 November 2026, including whether to require an independently verified kill switch for frontier models.
Those are the two live approaches, and they are pointed in opposite directions. What would resolve the federal one is the czar appointment and any document defining what the AI Force is empowered to do, neither of which exists yet.
Sources
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