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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →A White House AI adviser helps the President set priorities and coordinate the federal government’s AI work; the adviser does not control U.S. AI policy alone. The President directs executive-branch priorities, agencies act under authority granted by law, Congress enacts federal statutes, and states retain roles under the constitutional and statutory framework.
What a White House AI adviser does
The main White House office for science and technology advice is the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Congress established OSTP in 1976 to provide scientific and technical analysis and advice to the President and the Executive Office of the President. Its Director leads White House technology-policy work, including AI, and chairs the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). OSTP’s role and organization and the NSTC’s coordinating role distinguish advising and convening from making law.
Advise the President
OSTP brings scientific and technical considerations into national policy discussions. Advice can inform presidential priorities, but it is not itself a statute, regulation, or agency order.
Coordinate federal work
Through the NSTC, the OSTP Director convenes senior officials from across the federal government to coordinate science and technology policy and connect agency work with the President’s agenda. Coordination helps align departments, but it does not replace their separate legal authorities.
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Help shape plans and budgets
White House officials can develop cross-government strategies and assign work to agencies. OSTP also assists the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with annual reviews and priority setting for the federal research and development budget, linking policy priorities with federal planning.
Who sets U.S. AI policy?
AI policy comes from several institutions using different authorities and instruments. A White House strategy, an executive order, an agency action, a federal statute, and a state law do not have the same legal status.
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| Actor | Authority and role | Typical instrument or status |
|---|---|---|
| President | Sets executive-branch priorities and may direct agencies, subject to law. | Executive orders and other presidential direction; not an act of Congress. |
| White House, OSTP, and NSTC | Advise, develop strategy, convene agencies, and coordinate cross-government work. | Advice, plans, and coordination; these do not independently grant agencies unlimited powers. |
| Federal departments and agencies | Carry out assignments under applicable statutes and their own legal authorities. | Agency programs, actions, and rules where authorized by law. |
| Congress | Enacts federal statutes and can establish or change agency authority. | A bill becomes law only through the legislative process; a White House proposal is not enacted law. |
| States | Retain roles under state law and in state government operations, subject to the constitutional and statutory framework. | State laws and policies; conflicts with federal law depend on the law and circumstances. |
How White House priorities become agency work
A White House plan can identify goals and assign tasks, but agencies must carry them out within their statutory powers. The practical chain is presidential direction or a policy plan, followed by agency action under applicable law. Whether a particular goal has become an implemented policy depends on what the responsible agency has actually done.
The 2025 America’s AI Action Plan
A January 2025 White House fact sheet assigned development of an AI Action Plan jointly to the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the White House AI and Crypto Czar, and the National Security Advisor. The January 2025 assignment was therefore not a grant of sole policy control to one adviser.
In July 2025, the White House announced America’s AI Action Plan, describing over 90 federal policy actions grouped under accelerating innovation, building American AI infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security. The release identifies actions involving bodies including OSTP, OMB, Commerce and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. The plan announcement describes the administration’s agenda; the action count is the White House’s description, not an independent tally of completed work.
The release identified Michael Kratsios as OSTP Director, David Sacks as AI and Crypto Czar, and Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor for purposes of the announcement. Those are dated attributions from July 2025, not confirmation of anyone’s current position. In the same release, Kratsios called the plan a course to “cement U.S. dominance” in AI, and Sacks said the country “must win the AI race.” These are statements advocating for the administration’s agenda, not neutral findings about U.S. standing or legal authority.
The June 2026 executive order
A June 2, 2026 executive order assigned cybersecurity-related tasks across agencies including Treasury, the Department of War, Homeland Security and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), OMB, and the National Security Agency. It also directed development of a voluntary framework for certain frontier-model access and collaboration. The order states that it does not authorize mandatory government licensing, preclearance, or permitting for AI model development or release. The order’s text assigns agency work while preserving authority granted by law; it does not make an adviser the sole regulator of AI.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the White House’s state-law proposal means
In March 2026, the White House issued a National Policy Framework that recommends federal legislation to preempt certain state AI laws. It also describes proposed exceptions, including generally applicable consumer and child-protection laws, zoning, and states’ use of AI. The framework is an administration recommendation to Congress, not a federal law enacted by Congress. Its preferred approach does not, by itself, settle the boundaries of state authority or resolve existing legal disputes.
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How to read an AI policy announcement
To tell what an announcement actually changes, identify who issued it, what instrument it uses, who must act, and whether the action is proposed, directed, implemented, or enacted. A presidential order may direct executive agencies, but agencies still need legal authority for their actions. A White House legislative framework signals a policy position; only legislation enacted by Congress changes federal statutes.
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