President Donald Trump has added 13 crypto, AI, blockchain, and technology executives and founders to the Presidential Council on Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST.
The White House announced the appointments on Wednesday and said more members will join the council soon. The move places leaders from some of the biggest technology companies closer to the administration’s science and innovation agenda.
The appointments also reflect the desire of the White House to have industry players play a direct role in policy debates. In January 2025, Trump re-established the council by executive order.
In the meantime, the order stated that the group would advise the president on science, technology, education, and innovation policy. The Trump administration said the United States needs to maintain its advantage in key technologies.
Trump names leaders from crypto, AI and big tech
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, Oracle executive Larry Ellison, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, AMD chief executive Lisa Su, Dell founder Michael Dell, investor Marc Andreessen, and Oracle chief executive Safra Catz make for the first group.
The list also includes David Friedberg, Commonwealth Fusion Systems chief executive Bob Mumgaard, Oklo co-founder Jacob DeWitte, and physicist John Martinis.
The White House said the council can have as many as 24 members, and it plans to name more people “in the near future.” That leaves room for more appointments as the administration expands the group. The White House has also said it will share details on the council’s first meeting at a later date.
David Sacks, who serves as the White House AI and crypto czar, will co-chair the council with Michael Kratsios, Trump’s science adviser and senior technology official. The January executive order said the council would help the administration address policy issues tied to new technologies and national competitiveness.
The order also said the United States faces a race with foreign rivals in areas such as AI, digital systems, and other advanced technologies.
The White House described the mission in broad terms. It said the council would focus on “the opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present to the American workforce” and work toward a “Golden Age of Innovation.” That language places AI, crypto, and digital infrastructure near the center of the administration’s economic and technology message.
The council marks a shift toward industry-led advice
PCAST has existed in different forms across many administrations, and past versions often leaned more heavily on academics, scientists, and engineers. This new lineup looks different. Most of the names come from companies and investment firms that shape commercial AI, crypto markets, cloud systems, semiconductors, and enterprise software.
That shift gives the council a more corporate profile than in many earlier years. Martinis appears to be the only member from a traditional research role, while the rest come from boardrooms, venture firms, or operating companies. The current group also reflects sectors that already play a large role in policy debates over chips, data centers, AI tools, digital payments, and tokenized finance.
The list also stands out for who is not on it. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is not among the first appointees. There are also no executives from Microsoft in the opening group, and Elon Musk is absent as well, despite his past ties to the administration and his public profile in AI, space, and digital policy debates.
The makeup of the council may shape how advice reaches the White House in the months ahead. Leaders from Nvidia, AMD, Meta, Oracle, Google, Coinbase, and Dell all bring direct business interests in areas affected by federal policy. Their companies follow export controls, computing infrastructure rules, AI standards, digital asset regulation, and procurement policy very closely.
White House and tech sector ties continue to grow
The appointments arrive after months of growing contact between the Trump administration and top technology executives. Several of the new council members have met Trump or maintained working ties with senior officials.
Huang has held talks with the president on export controls affecting Nvidia chips. Zuckerberg visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club after the 2024 election and later attended a White House dinner with other executives in 2025.
Moreover, some of the council members and their companies have also supported Trump-linked political efforts. Reports tied to the latest appointments said Andreessen contributed millions of dollars to Trump’s campaign efforts, while Meta and Fred Ehrsam each gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration committee.
Those links add political context to the new advisory lineup, even as the White House frames the council as a policy body.
The administration has also pushed policies that many tech firms favor. It has backed a lighter approach to AI regulation, eased some pressure around chip export policy, and supported faster buildouts for data centers and related infrastructure. As we reported on March 20, the White House released a national AI framework that urged Congress to pass legislation that would preempt state-level AI laws.
That framework drew support from industry groups and investors who want a more uniform federal approach. At the same time, it also added to debate over how much control Washington should give states in setting AI rules. The new PCAST members now enter the picture as the administration continues to push its technology agenda across AI, computing, and digital finance.
Crypto legislation still faces delays in the Senate
The appointments also come as the White House keeps pressing for crypto legislation. The administration has backed efforts to move a digital asset market structure bill through Congress. In the House, the CLARITY Act passed in July 2025, but the Senate has not completed its own path forward.
In January, the Senate Agriculture Committee developed its bill. Nevertheless, it was not advancing rapidly when the Senate Banking Committee delayed a scheduled markup. Such a move would be important as it would deal with the interaction of the bill with the securities law and the federal regulatory oversight. As of Wednesday the committee had not scheduled a new date to do so.
Industry concerns have added to the delay. Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong said the company could not support the bill in its current form, which added pressure to an already difficult process.
Senate recesses, shutdown concerns, and debate over stablecoin yield have also slowed movement. That leaves the market structure effort in a waiting period even as the White House keeps signaling support for clearer crypto rules.