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AIQuiet 8d · day 10

Trump's AI advisers clash over regulation as Sacks blocks oversight plans

White House officials including Treasury Secretary Bessent and Chief of Staff Wiles push for AI guardrails, but venture capitalist David Sacks and industry leaders keep Trump aligned with a light-touch approach.

newest coverage 7d agosummary written 9d ago9 pieces7 likes & upvotes NewswiresXMastodonHacker NewsBlueskyGoogle News

What to know

  • Trump's White House is divided between deregulation advocates (Sacks, Zuckerberg, Huang) who have Trump's ear and officials (Wiles, Bessent, National Cyber Director Cairncross) who meet almost daily trying to build AI safeguards.
  • Sacks, whose venture firm holds billions in AI and tech investments, has twice blocked or watered down AI oversight orders through last-minute interventions with Trump.
  • Trump has declared that strong leadership alone is sufficient AI regulation, dismissing coordinated industry slowdowns and federal oversight mechanisms.
  • Some White House officials have questioned whether Sacks is blocking regulation to protect his own financial interests, though his holdings are only partially divested under ethics rules.

“In the past six months, other administration officials have grown concerned about how far the technology has come, and how little the administration initially did to scrutinize it”

Administration officials (via reporting), White House staff · Hindustan Times ↗

Donald TrumpDonald Trump U.S. PresidentDavid SacksDavid Sacks White House AI and crypto adviser (former), tech council co-chairSusie Wiles White House Chief of StaffScott BessentScott Bessent Treasury SecretaryMark ZuckerbergMark Zuckerberg Meta CEOJensen HuangJensen Huang Nvidia CEO

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in 3h at Sep 17, 4 AM; 9 pieces over 10 days (3 articles · 6 posts) Sep 16, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 16, 10 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 1, X 1Sep 17, 1 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 17, 4 AM — 3 pieces · 1 article · 2 posts — Mastodon 1, Hacker News 1, Newswires 1Sep 17, 7 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 1 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 7 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 1 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 7 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 1 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 18, 7 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 1 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 7 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 7 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 23, 1 AM — quietSep 23, 4 AM — quietSep 23, 7 AM — quietSep 23, 10 AM — quietSep 23, 1 PM — quietSep 23, 4 PM — quietSep 23, 7 PM — quietSep 23, 10 PM — quietSep 24, 1 AM — quietSep 24, 4 AM — quietSep 24, 7 AM — quietSep 24, 10 AM — quietSep 24, 1 PM — quietSep 24, 4 PM — quietSep 24, 7 PM — quietSep 24, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quietToday, 1 PM — quiet 1
Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24yesterdaynow · 3:37 PM ET
  1. 1

    WSJ reports internal White House divide over AI regulation strategy

    Wall Street Journal details the months-long dispute between Trump advisers over AI oversight, highlighting that Sacks—whose venture firm holds multibillion-dollar stakes in AI startups and other tech companies including SpaceX, Meta, Palantir, and Airbnb—has successfully blocked tighter regulation while deregulation-minded industry leaders gain Trump's favor.

    “Sacks had persuaded him to do so in a last-minute call…”
    — Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff · source
    1. 2 outlets Inside the White House Tussle to Sway Trump on AI

      first by Hindustan Times, 9d ago · also WSJ

    • Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang, and Elon Musk reportedly have Trump’s ear on AI. The three CEOs have apparently have been encouraging him to be hands-off with his approach to AI and “successfully stalled” a plan for an industry-funded AI regulator pitched by Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, according to The Wall Street Journal . Trump also likes…

      jay_peters@theverge.spaceMastodon8d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
  2. background

    Trump declares strong president alone can regulate AI — Following calls from lawmakers and some AI CEOs for a coordinated slowdown of model development, Trump declares Monday that the only AI regulation the U.S. needs is a 'strong and smart president.'

  3. background

    Industry leaders stall industry-funded AI regulator plan — Zuckerberg, Huang, and Elon Musk speak to Trump about their concerns with a proposed industry-funded regulator and successfully stall the plan.

  4. background

    White House officials begin daily meetings on AI risks and guardrails — In the months following the May dispute, Wiles, Bessent, National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross and other officials gather almost daily to discuss risks in the AI sector and consider potential guardrails while attempting to persuade Trump to take a more hands-on approach. White House officials regularly hold calls with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic executives.

  5. background

    Trump signs slimmed-down AI order after Wiles and Bessent push back — At the urging of Wiles and Bessent, who had spent months negotiating increased oversight and consulting industry executives on the original order, Trump later signs a reduced version of the executive order.

  6. background

    Trump scraps planned AI oversight executive order after Sacks intervention — President Trump abandons a planned executive order that would have subjected AI models to extended government review. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent express unhappiness at the decision, learning Sacks persuaded Trump in a last-minute call to drop the order.