United States President Donald Trump announced on Friday that all federal agencies must immediately stop using technology from artificial intelligence company Anthropic. The directive includes a six‑month phaseout period for the Department of Defense and other agencies where Anthropic’s systems are already embedded. Trump issued the order on Truth Social, saying the government would no longer do business with the San Francisco‑based startup. The move came during an escalating conflict between the Pentagon and Anthropic over the military’s use of AI in warfare.
The dispute centers on a $200 million Pentagon contract and disagreements about safeguards on Anthropic’s AI model, Claude. Anthropic had sought assurances that its technology would not be used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, but said new contract language undermined those protections. The Pentagon had threatened to classify the company as a supply‑chain risk, while Trump warned of civil and criminal consequences if Anthropic failed to cooperate with the phaseout.
The decision drew criticism from Senator Mark Warner, who questioned whether national security policy was being guided by analysis or politics. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly supported Anthropic’s stance, reflecting broader unease in Silicon Valley over government pressure on AI firms.