Trump Tells Agencies to Dump Woke Anthropic in Pentagon Row

President Donald Trump escalated the growing Anthropic AI standoff on Friday, February 28, directing every U.S. federal agency to halt its use of technology built by the artificial intelligence firm. The order, issued through a Truth Social post, grants a six-month phase-out window for departments already relying on Anthropic's products and comes one day after CEO Dario Amodei refused to strip safety guardrails from the company's Claude AI model at the Pentagon's request. The move marks the most aggressive government action against a major AI company to date.

Why Did Trump Target Anthropic AI?

Trump's directive stems from Anthropic's refusal on Thursday to comply with Pentagon demands that contractors permit their AI systems to be used for any lawful purpose. Anthropic declined to remove safeguards that block Claude from supporting mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, prompting an immediate backlash from the administration. Pentagon officials had insisted that all defense AI contractors allow their technology to serve any lawful military objective without restriction.

"The United States of America will never allow a radical left, woke company to dictate how our great military fights and wins wars!" Trump declared on Truth Social. He added that such decisions belong to the commander-in-chief and the leaders he appoints to run the military, not a private technology firm.

The president characterized Anthropic's stance as reckless and damaging to the country's defense posture. "Their selfishness is putting American lives at risk, our troops in danger, and our national security in jeopardy," Trump stated, calling the situation a direct threat to national defense and military readiness.

Anthropic Holds Firm on AI Safety Guardrails

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei made clear on Thursday that the company would not budge on its safety commitments, even as the Defense Department reviewed its relationship with the firm and weighed severe consequences. Those potential repercussions include cancellation of Anthropic's $200 million defense contract and possible invocation of the Defense Production Act, which could compel the company to comply with government demands, according to reports.

"We cannot in good conscience" remove the restrictions, Amodei said in a statement. The company has resisted Pentagon pressure to grant unrestricted military access to its AI models, though it has also recently walked back some safety language in its Responsible Scaling Policy, raising questions about where exactly Anthropic draws its ethical boundaries.

We cannot in good conscience remove the restrictions.

— Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic

Hegseth Declares Anthropic a National Security Risk

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amplified the president's message by designating Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security. Under this designation, no contractor, supplier, or partner conducting business with the United States military may carry out any commercial activity with Anthropic, effective immediately. The designation effectively isolates Anthropic from the entire defense industrial base.

Hegseth described Anthropic's actions as "a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon." He said the firm would continue providing services for up to six months to ensure a seamless transition to what he called a "better and more patriotic service."

"America's warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech," Hegseth wrote on X. "This decision is final."

Trump Threatens Criminal Consequences

Trump warned that decisions affecting military operations must remain under presidential authority rather than fall to what he described as "some out-of-control, radical left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real world is all about." The president made explicit that noncompliance during the transition period would carry steep penalties.

"Anthropic better get their act together and be helpful during this phase-out period, or I will use the full power of the presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow," Trump stated. Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told reporters on Friday that he is working to "help de-escalate" the growing confrontation between the government and the AI sector, according to a report.

What Does This Mean for the AI Industry?

The fallout could fundamentally reshape how AI companies negotiate government contracts and navigate national security programs in the years ahead. The nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology issued a statement calling Trump's action a dangerous precedent that threatens the relationship between technology firms and federal agencies.

CDT President and CEO Alexandra Givens said the president is "wielding the full weight of the federal government to blacklist a company for taking a narrowly-tailored, principled stance to restrict some of the most extreme uses of AI you could imagine — fully autonomous weapons and the mass surveillance of Americans."

Givens cautioned that the move "chills private companies' ability to engage frankly with the government about appropriate uses of their technology, which is especially important in national security settings that so often have reduced public visibility." She added that retaliating against a firm for setting principled conditions on its products "undermines basic market freedoms and makes us all less safe."