Trump appoints new positions at the head of AI, cryptocurrencies and border protection

The elected president of the United States, donald trumpannounced new appointments in key positions within the government that he will lead starting January 20, including the head of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, and the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Trump said he had tapped former PayPal chief operating officer David Sacks to oversee policies related to AI and digital currencies, continuing his campaign promise to make the U.S. the “cryptocapital of the planet” and accumulate a national reserve of bitcoin.

Sacks “will work within a legal framework so that the cryptocurrency industry has the clarity it has been asking for and can thrive in the United States,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social social media site.

The communication coincides with the rise of bitcoin, which surpassed $100,000 for the first time on Wednesday night, a milestone that even skeptics hailed as the coming of age of digital assets. Investors are betting on a favorable US administration to consolidate the place of cryptocurrencies in the financial markets.

Additionally, Trump appointed former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott as commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

“Rodney served for nearly three decades in the Border Patrol, where he gained extensive experience and knowledge of law enforcement and border security,” Trump said in an announcement Thursday night on Truth Social.

The president-elect recalled that during his first term (2017-2021), Rodney “served as the 24th chief of the United States Border Patrol, where he implemented the Remain in Mexico, Title 42 and Safe Third Parties agreements, and achieved record levels of illegal immigration.

Among his announcements on Thursday, the president-elect also reported that the Former US Senator David Perdue accepted the appointment as the next US ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, a key player for the incoming Trump administration, which has emphasized the intention to counter Beijing’s influence during its presidential campaign.

[Con información de The Associated Press y Reuters]

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