Federal government suppliers and contractors are now prohibited from engaging with Anthropic, as the company’s standoff with the Pentagon over AI usage continues.
Following President Donald Trump’s announcement on Truth Social of a federal government ban on Anthropic products, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth escalated the measure within two hours, formally designating the AI company as a “supply-chain risk.”
This critical decision followed a week of intense negotiations concerning Anthropic’s acceptable use policies. The Pentagon had issued an ultimatum, demanding the company agree by Friday, 5:30 PM EST, to permit the use of its Claude AI model for “all legal purposes,” specifically including autonomous lethal weapons without human oversight and mass surveillance. Failure to comply would result in the "supply-chain risk" designation. This classification, usually reserved for entities with foreign government ties posing national security risks to the United States, effectively prohibits any company utilizing Anthropic products from engaging with the Department of Defense.
In a tweet published shortly after 5 PM ET, Secretary Hegseth expanded the scope of this designation to include companies conducting “any commercial activity with Anthropic,” reinforcing President Trump’s earlier directive that businesses be given six months to divest from Anthropic products.
Hegseth articulated the Pentagon’s firm stance, stating, “Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic.” He further criticized the company, asserting that “@AnthropicAI and its CEO @DarioAmodei have chosen duplicity. Cloaked in the sanctimonious rhetoric of ‘effective altruism,’ they have attempted to strong-arm the United States military into submission - a cowardly act of corporate virtue-signaling that places Silicon Valley ideology above American lives.”
As Secretary of Defense, Hegseth possesses the authority to unilaterally designate a company as a “supply-chain risk.” This decisive action, however, follows numerous previous attempts by the Pentagon to compel Anthropic to grant the desired access to Claude, including a prior threat to invoke the Defense Production Act.
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