The US Commerce Department confirmed that Chris Fall, director of the AI Standards and Innovation Center, has resigned after only three months on the job. The center is responsible for testing cutting-edge AI models and helping the US government develop evaluation standards.
Arvind Raman, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will serve as acting director. The Commerce Department did not explain why Fall left, only saying his appointment was temporary from the start and that a new permanent leader will be announced in the coming weeks.
This marks the second leadership change at the agency in three months. In April, Collin Burns, the initially designated head, was asked to leave by the White House just four days after taking the role, and Fall took over. The Trump administration is still debating how to test and oversee the most advanced AI models, but the core agency responsible for executing that mission remains without a long-term leader.
https://www.axios.com/2026/07/20/trump-ai-security-agency-head-resigns?utm_source=chatgpt.com