WASHINGTON, DC – US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor joined Varney & Co. on Fox Business for his first television appearance since President Trump announced his appointment as Vice Chair of the White House Super Intelligence Task Force. Kupor discussed the President’s vision for maintaining American leadership in superintelligence, protecting national security, and holding industry accountable while advancing innovation.

On advancing President Trump’s vision for American leadership in super intelligence:

“We are going to do exactly what the President has talked about, which is we all recognize that leading in super intelligence is the most important economic issue, security issue, for the country. And the President has asked us to do that. At the same time, the President recognizes that, yes, there are risks. Like any new technology, there’s new things we have to figure out. We have to figure out the energy cost, water cost, utilities, all these other things, security, of course.”

On developing a comprehensive plan to advance innovation and address risks:

“So the main thing for the task force to do will be to come back to the President with a comprehensive plan that balances those two issues and make sure that we have the precondition that will allow the U.S. to continue to win, which we are and we will continue to do so. And also make sure that all the other players in the ecosystem recognize and understand how do we address and how do we appropriately handle issues that may arise in the course of this development in the technology.”

On independent oversight and accountability for industry commitments:

“So, this is not just a bunch of engineers sitting around and grading themselves. This is actually them going outside to a third-party auditor, that auditor reporting to an independent committee of the board. It actually has real legal teeth in a way that I think people who haven’t been on a public company board before, they don’t quite appreciate and understand. I think this was the genius of what the President was able to get these industry leaders to commit to, is something that truly does have teeth.”

On protecting American innovation while enforcing existing laws:

“One of the key members of the task force is Andrew Ferguson, the head of the FTC. There are lots of things, obviously, the FTC can do. The President has mentioned the DOJ has lots of existing rules and regulations. So, nobody is going to get a free pass here. The question, though, is do you want to make sure you don’t introduce a regulatory scheme that will slow down or impact the ability of the inventiveness of this country to win what is an incredibly important technology. And I think the President is trying to strike the right balance here.”

On touring the new White House ballroom with President Trump:

“The President did a great job. He literally told us down to the thickness of the glass and the strength of the steel there. It looks awesome. It’s going to be fantastic. It has been well reported and not only adds to the functionality of the White House but obviously creates an entirely robust security infrastructure that’s been long needed. So, it was a great tour. It’s very clear that the President is a builder.”