Trump admin blacklists Anthropic as AI firm refuses Pentagon demands

"The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

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Politics

Trump admin blacklists Anthropic as AI firm refuses Pentagon demands

Dan Mangan@in/danmangancnbc/@_DanMangan

Ashley Capoot@/in/ashley-capoot/

WATCH LIVE

Key Points

• President Donald Trump ordered U.S. government agencies to "immediately cease" using technology from the artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
• The AI startup faces pressure by the Defense Department to comply with demands that it can use the company's technology without restrictions sought by Anthropic.
• Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, soon after Trump's order, said he was ordering the Pentagon to "designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" after the AI startup refused to comply with demands about the use of its technology.

[Trump tells U.S. government to stop using Anthropic's technology]

watch now

VIDEO1:2801:28

Trump tells U.S. government to stop using Anthropic's technology

Closing Bell

President Donald Trump said Friday that he was ordering every U.S. government agency to "immediately cease" using technology from the artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

Trump in a Truth Social post said there would be a six-month phase-out for agencies such as the Defense Department, which "are using Anthropic's products, at various levels."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, soon after Trump's order, said on X that he was ordering the Pentagon to "designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" after the AI startup refused to comply with demands about the use of its technology.

Anthropic said in a statement late on Friday that it is "deeply saddened by these developments." The company said it will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court.

"We believe this designation would both be legally unsound and set a dangerous precedent for any American company that negotiates with the government," Anthropic said.

Anthropic, which signed a $200 million contract with the Pentagon in July, wanted assurances that its AI models would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance of Americans.

The Pentagon, which strongly resisted that request, set a deadline of 5:01 p.m. ET Friday for Anthropic to agree to its demands that the U.S. military be allowed to use the technology for all lawful purposes.

That deadline passed without an agreement.

"Anthropic's stance is fundamentally incompatible with American principles," Hegseth said in a statement on X.

"Their relationship with the United States Armed Forces and the Federal Government has therefore been permanently altered."

"Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service," the Defense secretary said. "America's warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final."

Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution."

"Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY."

"Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic's technology," Trump wrote.

"We don't need it, we don't want it, and will not do business with them again!"

Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who is vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, condemned Trump's action.

"The president's directive to halt the use of a leading American AI company across the federal government, combined with inflammatory rhetoric attacking that company, raises serious concerns about whether national security decisions are being driven by careful analysis or political considerations," Warner said in a statement.

"President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's efforts to intimidate and disparage a leading American company — potentially as the pretext to steer contracts to a preferred vendor whose model a number of federal agencies have already identified as a reliability, safety, and security threat — pose an enormous risk to U.S. defense readiness and the willingness of the U.S. private sector and academia to work with the IC [Intelligence Community] and DoD, consistent with their own values and legal ethics," Warner said.

Elon Musk, the mega-billionaire who had been Trump's biggest financial backer in the 2024 election, owns xAI, which aims to compete directly with Anthropic and another major AI company, OpenAI.

Musk in recent weeks has repeatedly bashed Anthropic on his social network X, writing on Friday that the company "hates Western civilization."

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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that his company "cannot in good conscience" allow the Pentagon to use its models without limitation.

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Original source