Insider: Crypto “czar” David Sacks’ remit shifts from leadership to general advisory role

PANews reported on December 21 that according to Fortune, David Sacks, who was originally scheduled to serve as the "AI and Cryptocurrency Czar" in the Trump administration, had changes in his terms of reference. Two people familiar with the inner workings of the transition team said that while the "czar" position was initially conceived as a clear leadership role, it is now more of a general advisory position. Suffice to say, David Sacks will be overseen by Michael Kratsios, a Scale AI executive who served as chief technology officer during the first Trump administration. Michael Kratsios, who is deeply involved in the current transition, is expected to stay on after Trump takes office, co-leading all technology policy efforts with Gale Slater, who will focus on telecommunications and technology antitrust issues, a person familiar with the matter said.

A person familiar with the matter explained that David Sacks' position was reduced to a more general advisory position in part because he did not divest from investment firm Craft Ventures and did not want to become a full-time government employee, which requires a formal confirmation process. In past administrations, many so-called political and policy "czars" held official positions in the government, in specific departments, and often with Senate approval. If David Sacks were to gain formal employment status, he would likely be a "special government employee," which Congress describes as "temporary or intermittent consultants" who are not subject to the same conflict-of-interest standards as regular government employees. In fact, there are virtually no restrictions on such people continuing to work outside or receive pay, whether or not they are paid for government work.