Pentagon moves to designate Anthropic as a supply-chain risk

In a bold move, President Trump has ordered federal agencies to halt the use of all products from Anthropic, following a contentious public disagreement with the Department of Defense. The directive allows a six-month transition period for agencies currently utilizing Anthropic's offerings, but the president made it clear that the company will not be permitted to continue as a federal contractor. He stated, "We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again," in a post shared on Truth Social. While the president's announcement did not explicitly mention plans to categorize Anthropic as a supply chain risk, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth later confirmed this action in a follow-up tweet. He stated, "In conjunction with the President’s directive for the Federal Government to cease all use of Anthropic’s technology, I am directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security." This designation prohibits any contractors or partners of the U.S. military from engaging commercially with Anthropic, effective immediately. The conflict arose from Anthropic's refusal to permit its AI models for use in mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weaponry, which Secretary Hegseth deemed overly restrictive. CEO Dario Amodei firmly stood by this position, stating in a public message that the company wishes to continue its support for the Department of Defense, provided that their requested safeguards remain in place. He added, "Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions."