Susie Wiles backs Trump on AI

Artificial intelligence policy is turning into a very specific Trump argument — move faster, regulate less, and treat AI as a national security race. That became clearer on May 6, when White House chief of staff Susie Wiles used her new X account to say the administration will not “pick winners and losers” in AI and cyber security. The point was simple, but the timing mattered. The White House is actively shaping new AI directives right now, and there’s a live fight over how much Washington should test or screen powerful models before release. (finance.yahoo.com) ### What did Wiles actually say? Wiles wrote that Trump and his administration are “not in the business of picking winners and losers” in AI and cyber security, and that the goal is to make sure “the best and safest tech is deployed rapidly to defeat any and all threats.” She also framed the approach (finance.yahoo.com)oomberg described Wiles as taking a lead role in the latest round of AI policy. (finance.yahoo.com) ### Why does “pick winners and losers” matter? Because the real policy fight is not about whether AI matters. Everyone in this White House thinks it matters. The fight is over whether the government should actively gatekeep which models get released, who gets favored in procurement, and how much pre-r(finance.yahoo.com)come the referee that decides which lab gets to move. (finance.yahoo.com) ### But isn’t the administration also considering more oversight? Yes — and that’s the tension. On the same day as Wiles’ post, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said the administration was studying an order that could create a review process for advanced models, comparing it to drug ap(finance.yahoo.com)vide model access for government assessment. So the message is not “no oversight ever.” It is more like: oversight, if it comes, should not look like Washington choosing corporate favorites. (finance.yahoo.com) ### How does this fit Trump’s broader AI line? Pretty neatly. Trump’s AI policy documents already lean hard toward deregulation, infrastructure buildout, and geopolitical competition. The July 2025 AI Action Plan laid out more than 90 federal actions across innovation, infrastructure, and internationa(finance.yahoo.com) chip fabs, and pushing American AI systems abroad. (whitehouse.gov) ### Where does the “America First” part show up? In both rhetoric and structure. The AI Action Plan says the U.S. needs to “win the AI race,” and AI.gov frames the issue as global dominance — whoever builds the biggest ecosystem sets the standards and captures the economic and security upside. Wiles’ wording plugs (whitehouse.gov)national defense. (whitehouse.gov) ### What about regulation by states? That is another big piece of the puzzle. A December 2025 executive order argued that a patchwork of state AI laws would burden companies, especially startups, and called for a minimally burdensome national framework instead of “50 discordant” regimes. So when Wiles warns about bureaucracy, she is echoing a broader White House effort to keep regulation centralized and lighter-touch. (federalregister.gov) ### Why mention cyber security with AI? Because the administration keeps bundling them together. That makes political sense — cyber turns AI from a Silicon Valley growth story into a security story voters and defense hawks understand immediately. It also matters substant(federalregister.gov)testing before release. (finance.yahoo.com) ### Bottom line? Wiles’ post was a short statement, but it clarified the lane. Trump’s White House wants to sound pro-safety without sounding pro-slowdown. The bet is that America wins by building and deploying first — and by keeping bureaucrats from deciding which AI companies get to lead. (finance.yahoo.com)