President Trump orders federal agencies to stop using Anthropic after Pentagon dispute

In a recent announcement on Truth Social, President Trump instructed federal agencies to discontinue the use of all products from Anthropic following a public disagreement with the Department of Defense. He specified a six-month period for transitioning away from the company's offerings but firmly stated that Anthropic would no longer be considered a federal contractor. In his post, Trump declared, "We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again." Interestingly, he did not mention any intentions to invoke the Defense Production Act or classify Anthropic as a risk to the supply chain. Instead, the President called on the company to cooperate during the phase-out period, warning of potential "major civil and criminal consequences" for non-compliance. The conflict arose from Anthropic's stance against allowing its AI technologies to be utilized for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapon systems—conditions that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth deemed overly restrictive. In response, CEO Dario Amodei reiterated the company’s commitment to these safeguards in a public statement, emphasizing their desire to continue supporting the Department of Defense while upholding their principles. Amodei assured that should the Department opt to sever ties with Anthropic, they would facilitate a seamless transition to another provider to prevent any disruptions to military planning and operations.