Trump White House Wants Tighter Grip on AI Model Testing, Reportedly Moves Officials From Commerce Department

President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly planning to move three senior officials from the Commerce Department’s Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI) to the White House, after coordination problems with the department.

Coordination Problems Behind CAISSI Shift

The three officials, whose names have not been disclosed, would report to Michael Kratsios, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, according to a Reuters report, citing The Information.

A White House official told The Information that coordination problems with the Commerce Department showed the need to bring CAISSI’s leadership closer to the White House’s artificial intelligence decision-making process.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick invited Kratsios and Cairncross to co-manage the center six months ago, according to a senior Commerce official.

The White House and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

White House Consolidates AI Oversight

Earlier this month, Trump named Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton the administration’s AI czar, tasking him with coordinating federal efforts to maintain U.S. leadership in the technology.

Last week, Trump said that the White House considers anyone who uses the term ‘artificial intelligence’ instead of ‘super intelligence’ an “enemy.”

CAISSI Anchors Frontier AI Testing

CAISSI evaluates advanced AI models for safety and capabilities and plays a role in the administration’s framework for testing frontier AI systems before they are deployed.

Last month, Trump released the White House Accord on Super Intelligence, a voluntary safety pact signed by the executives of leading AI companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) xAI, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), that calls for independent audits, stronger internal controls, and board-level oversight of frontier AI models.

Price Action: Meta’s shares closed 3.38% higher on Monday at $742.96 and fell 0.20% to $ 741.50 in extended trading.

Benzinga Edge rankings indicate Meta’s stock has a Momentum score in the 63rd percentile and a Growth score in the 79th percentile.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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