What is PCAST and what does it do?

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is a federal advisory body that provides the President and senior officials with science and technology policy recommendations. Under Trump, it is co-chaired by AI czar David Sacks and focuses on AI policy, semiconductor strategy, chip export controls, and national security technology.

Why was Sam Altman excluded from Trump's PCAST?

The White House has been in growing tension with OpenAI over federal contracting, governance concerns, and the administration's preference for open-model AI approaches. Several PCAST members, including Marc Andreessen, have been publicly critical of Altman's stewardship of OpenAI.

Why was Elon Musk not included in PCAST?

Musk's relationship with the Trump administration deteriorated significantly following his turbulent role running DOGE. Multiple White House officials have indicated he is no longer part of the core advisory structure, making his PCAST exclusion unsurprising.

How will Jensen Huang's PCAST role affect Nvidia's stock?

Huang has been the most vocal corporate critic of Biden-era chip export restrictions. His advisory access to chip policy decisions is widely interpreted as favorable for Nvidia's efforts to expand high-performance GPU sales, particularly to markets currently restricted under export control rules.

Will PCAST actually change AI regulation?

PCAST recommendations are advisory, not binding. But the council's influence is primarily informal — members get regular direct access to the White House on AI procurement, chip policy, and R&D budget decisions. Its composition strongly signals a preference for light-touch, voluntary regulation over mandatory model disclosure requirements.

Trump's New Science Council Is Nine Tech Bill…

Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and Sergey Brin are among 13 executives named to Trump's PCAST. With Sam Altman and Elon Musk conspicuously absent, the lineup signals who will shape US AI regulation and chip export policy.

The first full list of Trump's revived President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology went public this week, and the roster says everything about where AI policy is headed for the next two years. Thirteen members were named — among them Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, AMD CEO Lisa Su, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz. The council is co-chaired by AI and crypto czar David Sacks and former Office of Science and Technology Policy official Michael Kratsios.

The two most notable names on the list are the ones that are not there. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Elon Musk, who runs xAI and was Trump's most prominent tech ally during the 2024 campaign, are both absent. Their exclusion is not an oversight.

PCAST · Trump AI policy · Jensen Huang Nvidia

Musk's absence reflects his publicly deteriorating relationship with the administration following his brief and chaotic tenure leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Multiple White House officials told Bloomberg this week that Musk "is no longer part of the core advisory structure." Altman's exclusion is more pointed — the White House and OpenAI have been in escalating tension over OpenAI's push for government contracts and the administration's broader distrust of the nonprofit-turned-capped-profit structure. Several PCAST members, including Andreessen, have been openly critical of Altman's governance of OpenAI.

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Trump's New Science Council Is Nine Tech Billionaires and One Scientist — What That Means for AI Policy

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Trump's New Science Council Is Nine Tech Billionaires and One Scientist — What That Means for AI Policy

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Frequently Asked Questions

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