David Sacks, the venture capitalist who served as a central link between Silicon Valley and the White House, confirmed Thursday he has concluded his tenure as a special government employee and is no longer President Trump's Special Advisor on AI and Crypto. The status, which limited service to 130 days, had formally expired. Sacks will now co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), a body recently expanded with names like Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang.

In a Bloomberg Television interview, Sacks described the shift as a broadening of scope. "Moving forward as co-chair of PCAST, I can now make recommendations on not just AI, but on an expanded range of technology topics," he said. He emphasized the role is purely advisory, offering counsel directly to the president and executive offices.

His previous position granted him direct Oval Office access and significant influence over the administration's aggressive tech policy. That influence, however, proved politically costly. Sacks's push to override state AI laws through federal action alienated key Republican governors and grassroots supporters, stalling other legislative priorities. Conservative critic Michael Toscano labeled him "a political disaster" for damaging the administration's populist standing.

The departure follows a pattern in Trump's second term of reassigning controversial figures. It also came after Sacks publicly suggested on his podcast that the president needed an "off-ramp" from tensions with Iran—a breach of loyalty in Trump's circle. His move to the advisory council removes him from day-to-day policy operations, refocusing his role on research and recommendations rather than implementation.

Source: The Verge