David Sacks leaves White House tech post to co-chair PCAST

David Sacks has left the White House role as crypto and artificial intelligence czar after 130 days to become co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST). His exit comes as Senate negotiations on digital-asset legislation have stalled over how to treat rewards linked to stablecoins.

Sacks described his term as a special government employee as complete. “My 130 days as a special government employee were up,” he noted. “Moving forward as a co-chair of PCAST, I can now make recommendations on not just about AI, but an extended range of technology topics. So yes, this is how I will be involved moving forward.”

A day before Sacks confirmed the change, President Donald Trump named the first members of PCAST, created by executive order in January 2025. Sacks will co-chair with senior advisor Michael Kratsios. The council includes Marc Andreessen, Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, Oracle Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Sacks has disclosed that he previously held cryptocurrency and sold his holdings before the start of the Trump administration.

Lawmakers continue to work on a federal framework for digital assets. Draft plans would divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The House passed its market-structure bill, the Clarity Act, with bipartisan support in 2025. In January, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its own version along party lines, but progress has since slowed in the Senate Banking Committee over the treatment of stablecoin rewards.

Industry advocates are also debating timing and priorities. In a blog post, Coin Center Executive Director Peter Van Valkenburgh wrote: “We have this moment where their voices can rise above the anti-tech, pro-authoritarian left and right. If we lose this moment because we thought we’d have a bit more revenue and a bit more latitude under the short-term friendly discretion of the current administration, then we lose our way.”