President Donald Trump has ordered all federal agencies to immediately cease using technology from Anthropic, escalating a public dispute over AI safety. The move came hours before a deadline for the Department of Defense and Anthropic to reach an agreement on ethical guidelines, which expired on Friday afternoon.
Trump announced the directive on Truth Social, calling Anthropic 'Leftwing nut jobs' and accusing the company of trying to 'strong-arm' the military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later classified Anthropic as a supply-chain risk to national security, a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries, and ordered all Pentagon contractors to cease commercial activity with the firm.
Hours after Anthropic's exclusion, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a new deal with the Pentagon to supply AI for classified military networks. Altman stated that the agreement enshrines the same safety guardrails that were the sticking point in Anthropic's dispute, including prohibitions on mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force.
Anthropic responded by saying it had received no direct communication from the Pentagon or White House and would challenge any supply chain risk designation in court. The company described the action as unprecedented for an American firm. The Pentagon had a $200 million, two-year agreement with Anthropic, which will continue for a transition period of up to six months.
