U.S. Gov't Bans Anthropic AI
The Trump administration has directed all federal agencies and military contractors to stop using AI from Anthropic, a major OpenAI competitor, citing “supply risk.” Just hours later, OpenAI announced a new deal with the Pentagon to provide AI systems for U.S. defense and intelligence, rapidly consolidating its position as the government's preferred AI vendor.
The directive to ban Anthropic technology follows the breakdown of months of negotiations between the AI company and the Pentagon. The core of the dispute was Anthropic's insistence on maintaining safeguards that would prohibit its AI, Claude, from being used for mass domestic surveillance or in fully autonomous weapons systems. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a "supply-chain risk," a label historically reserved for foreign adversaries, which could prevent tens of thousands of military contractors from using its technology. The Trump administration has mandated a six-month phase-out period for all federal agencies and threatened "major civil and criminal consequences" if Anthropic does not cooperate with the transition. Just before the ban, Anthropic had a contract with the Department of Defense valued at up to $200 million to deploy its models on classified networks. The company has stated it will challenge the "legally unsound" supply-chain risk designation in court, asserting that no amount of "intimidation or punishment" will change its ethical stance. OpenAI's new Pentagon deal also follows a previous $200 million contract awarded in June 2025 to develop AI prototypes for national security challenges. That earlier deal was part of a new initiative called "OpenAI For Government," aimed at providing AI tools to various federal agencies, including NASA and the Treasury Department. In announcing the new agreement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that the Pentagon agrees with their safety principles, including prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and ensuring human responsibility for the use of force. Altman also publicly sided with his competitor, stating he trusts Anthropic and shares their "red lines" on military AI use. The move has drawn reactions from across the political and tech spectrum. Senator Mark Kelly called the administration's actions "dumb and dangerous," while hundreds of employees from Google DeepMind and OpenAI signed an open letter urging their companies to stand with Anthropic.
