Inside the White House's AI power center
TL;DR
David Sacks is stepping back from day-to-day AI work, and Sriram Krishnan is expected to leave by the end of June. That removes two Silicon Valley architects from the Trump administration's AI agenda. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has gained influence after the Anthropic fight. His department imposed export controls on Anthropic and is leading G7-side talks on access to advanced AI models.
Nauti's Take
Washington is building AI rules in crisis mode. The Anthropic case shows how quickly safety arguments, industry lobbying and personal access can turn into political pressure.
For teams relying on US models, this is a procurement risk: availability can hinge on export controls, cabinet fights and whichever official has the upper hand that week.
Briefingshow
Personnel churn is policy here. A small, shifting group is deciding export controls, model access, safety pressure and the relationship with major labs. For Europe and Switzerland, the key signal is the crisis machinery in Washington: who sets facts, who gets access, and who can push a company to pull models.
Sources