Trump revamps PCAST with AI and crypto czar in charge

The White House just tore up the tech advisory playbook.

President Trump signed an executive order establishing a reconstituted President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), officially revoking President Biden's 2021 version.

While science advisory councils usually fly under the radar, this revamp fundamentally changes who holds the mic on national tech policy.

Crypto and AI take the lead

The new council is capped at no more than 24 members, but the biggest shock is at the top.

PCAST will now be co-chaired by two officials: the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, alongside the newly minted Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. If the science assistant also serves as the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, they can also bring the U.S. Chief Technology Officer into the mix.

The remaining slots will be handpicked by the President from outside the federal government, tapping industry and academia.

The order singles out three core priority sectors: artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced biotechnology. Breakthroughs in these areas are framed as vital to national security and global tech dominance.

Interestingly, the text takes direct aim at academia. The order claims ideological dogmas have surfaced across science and medicine that elevate group identity over individual achievement and inject politics into the scientific method.

Operationally, the Department of Energy will provide all funding and administrative support, while members can be granted security clearances to advise on classified tech initiatives.

Why it matters

Elevating a dedicated AI and crypto advisor to co-chair PCAST is an unprecedented move that tells you exactly where White House priorities lie.

Historically, this council was the domain of university presidents, Nobel laureates, and institutional scientists. Putting AI and crypto leadership directly at the helm basically signals that the administration wants fast-moving commercial interests and deregulation driving federal policy, rather than cautious academic bureaucracy.

Handing the keys and administrative backing to the Department of Energy is also a telling operational shift. Advanced AI and quantum development are colliding directly with the realities of the power grid, nuclear energy, and high-performance computing clusters run by national labs. Anchoring the council inside Energy ties high-level science directly to the infrastructure needed to run it.

The downside? A heavy ideological purge. By explicitly calling out political dogmas within the scientific community, the administration appears ready to sideline traditional advisory voices in favor of industry allies. For deep scientific fields like quantum and biotech that require decades of patient funding without immediate market payoffs, shifting the spotlight entirely to commercial tech could leave foundational research out in the cold.