Silicon Valley Sacks Washington
David Sacks “has occupied one of the most advantageous moonlighting roles in the federal government, influencing policy for Silicon Valley in Washington while simultaneously working in Silicon Valley as an investor”
At 10 a.m. (PDT) on Monday, December 1, 2025, I’ll be on KQED Forum to discuss extremist tech politics and my forthcoming book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy. KQED is San Francisco’s major public radio station, and you can listen online, and even call in with questions. Click here for more info (the “live radio” button is in the top-right corner).
A few years ago, David Sacks was funding recall elections in San Francisco. Today, he’s Donald Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar in Washington, where he is doing extraordinarily well for himself and his friends.
From a New York Times article headlined “Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends”:
Since January, Mr. Sacks, 53, has occupied one of the most advantageous moonlighting roles in the federal government, influencing policy for Silicon Valley in Washington while simultaneously working in Silicon Valley as an investor. Among his actions as the White House’s artificial intelligence and crypto czar:
Mr. Sacks has offered astonishing White House access to his tech industry compatriots and pushed to eliminate government obstacles facing A.I. companies. That has set up giants like Nvidia to reap an estimate of as much as $200 billion in new sales.
Mr. Sacks has recommended A.I. policies that have sometimes run counter to national security recommendations, alarming some of his White House colleagues and raising questions about his priorities.
The list goes on. Read the full story at this gift link.
Sacks was a key funder of the San Francisco recall elections in 2022, and his role in pushing local politics to the right helped tip me off to the larger story about Silicon Valley’s shift toward fascist politics.
This New Republic story by Jacob Silverman was a formative read.
Jacob Silverman
Sacks was also the subject of the second episode of the Nerd Reich podcast, “David Sacks’ Dark Vision.”
