White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, publicly welcomed Pam Bondi to advise President Donald Trump on legal and regulatory barriers to artificial intelligence, describing her as uniquely positioned to support the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in clearing obstacles to American AI leadership.

Context

In the post, Sacks wrote that 'winning the AI race means not only beating China but also clearing bureaucratic hurdles thrown up by state legislatures and woke politicians in DC,' framing over-regulation as the single biggest threat to innovation. He expressed enthusiasm for Bondi's addition, stating 'no one is better positioned to support PCAST in this mission.' The statement positions Bondi — a former Florida Attorney General and long-time Trump ally — as a legal strategist rather than a technical expert within the advisory structure.

Policy Backdrop

The Trump administration's deregulatory posture on AI has deep roots. Executive Order 13859, signed during Trump's first term in 2019, established the American AI Initiative and explicitly directed agencies to reduce regulatory barriers to AI development. During the 2024 campaign, Trump and his advisers repeatedly identified both federal and state-level regulation as the primary friction slowing American competitiveness against China. Sacks's post extends that argument by naming state legislatures as a specific target, signalling that the administration may pursue federal preemption of state AI statutes. PCAST is the formal body empowered to provide independent science and technology counsel directly to the President, making its composition a reliable indicator of White House priorities.

Stakeholders and Impact

The appointment carries direct implications for AI developers, large technology companies, and startups that have faced a patchwork of emerging state-level AI regulations across states including California, Texas, and others. A PCAST adviser with a prosecutorial and legal background like Bondi's suggests the administration intends to challenge or roll back those frameworks through legal and regulatory channels rather than through new federal legislation. For India, which has deepening technology and AI partnership ties with the United States, shifts in American regulatory philosophy on AI can influence bilateral frameworks, data-sharing norms, and joint research arrangements.

What's Next

Observers will watch for formal PCAST work plans or public recommendations targeting state AI statutes and any subsequent executive actions that follow. Sacks's public endorsement of Bondi suggests the White House is moving quickly to staff the advisory body with figures who can operationalise its deregulatory agenda. The broader U.S.-China AI competition frame that Sacks invoked means these regulatory decisions will continue to be presented as matters of national security, raising the political stakes for any pushback from Congress or state governments.