The Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy

What it’s like to run President Trump’s science and technology office. https://t.co/JJXgc6FF3F

— Colossus (@colossusmag) October 31, 2026

… had no Wi-Fi.

“Best way to sandbox an AI,” Musk said. “Put it on a Delta flight.”

All six were about to receive national medals from the President. The ceremony was the idea of Michael Kratsios, Trump's chief science advisor. He is 39, a Peter Thiel protégé, and has worked for Trump every day of both terms.

For decades, the office Kratsios runs was known mostly for reports on things like algae blooms. Kratsios himself was barely known in Trump's first term. Now he sits between the President and tech royalty. He is one of a handful of people shaping America's AI policy, and the White House's point man on nuclear, space, and quantum.

In our latest feature, Harry Lambert shows how the fight to regulate AI and reform American science runs through his office.