President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ordering every federal government agency to stop using Athropic AI immediately.
“THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS! That decision belongs to YOUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, and the tremendous leaders I appoint to run our Military,” Trump began in a lengthy Truth Social post Friday afternoon.
He added, “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution. Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY.”
The president said he would immediately direct every federal agency to stop using Anthropic technology.
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“We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” he continued.
There will be a six-month phase out period for agencies such as the Department of War, he added.
“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,” he wrote.
He continued, “WE will decide the fate of our Country — NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about.”
Earlier this week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused demands from the Department of War to use its artificial intelligence for “all lawful purposes,” but Amodei said no, concerned over the possibility it could be used for “mass domestic surveillance” or “fully autonomous weapons.”
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“The Department of War has stated they will only contract with AI companies who accede to ‘any lawful use’ and remove safeguards in the cases mentioned above. They have threatened to remove us from their systems if we maintain these safeguards; they have also threatened to designate us a ‘supply chain risk’ — a label reserved for US adversaries, never before applied to an American company — and to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the safeguards’ removal,” Amodei said in a Thursday statement.
He declared that the “threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.”
Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell declared in a post on X that the department does not want to engage in either of those activities but is asking to use Anthropic’s AI for all legal purposes.
“The Department of War has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement,” Parnell said in the post. “Here’s what we’re asking: Allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes.”
“This is a simple, common-sense request that will prevent Anthropic from jeopardizing critical military operations and potentially putting our warfighters at risk. We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions. They have until 5:01 PM ET on Friday to decide. Otherwise, we will terminate our partnership with Anthropic and deem them a supply chain risk for DOW,” he noted.
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Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael accused Anthropic and Amodei of lying.
In a post on X, Michael called Amodei “a liar” who “has a God-complex.”
“He wants nothing more than to try to personally control the US Military and is ok putting our nation’s safety at risk. The @DeptofWar will ALWAYS adhere to the law but not bend to whims of any one for-profit tech company,” he asserted.
In another post he asserted, “Anthropic is lying. The @DeptofWar doesn’t do mass surveillance as that is already illegal. What we are talking about is allowing our warfighters to use AI without having to call @DarioAmodei for permission to shoot down an enemy drone swarms that would kill Americans.”
“It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider,” Amodei said in a statement sent on Thursday to Fox News Digital. “Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters — with our two requested safeguards in place. 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. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.”
“We remain ready to continue our work to support the national security of the United States,” he added.
On Friday, after Trump’s announcement, Hegseth claimed Anthropic “delivered 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 added in a lengthy X post: “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.”
“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,” he added. “Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic. Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service.”
The General Services Administration also announced on Friday it was removing Anthropic from USAi.gov and their Multiple Award Schedule (MAS).
“GSA stands with the President in rejecting attempts to politicize work dedicated to America’s national security,” GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said in a statement. “Building resilient, secure, and scalable AI solutions demands alignment, trust, and a willingness to make hard calls. We’re committed to delivering results for Americans, and working with our AI industry partners who fit the bill.”
After Trump’s annoucement, Hegseth said he was designating Anthropic as a “supply-chain risk.”
“Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic,” he wrote on X. “Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service.”
Anthropic told Fox News Digital on Friday that Hegseth’s designation “follows months of negotiations that reached an impasse over two exceptions we requested to the lawful use of our AI model, Claude: the mass domestic surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons.”
“We have not yet received direct communication from the Department of War or the White House on the status of our negotiations,” Anthropic said.
The company continued, “We have tried in good faith to reach an agreement with the Department of War, making clear that we support all lawful uses of AI for national security aside from the two narrow exceptions above. To the best of our knowledge, these exceptions have not affected a single government mission to date.”
“We held to our exceptions for two reasons,” the company added. “First, we do not believe that today’s frontier AI models are reliable enough to be used in fully autonomous weapons. Allowing current models to be used in this way would endanger America’s warfighters and civilians. Second, we believe that mass domestic surveillance of Americans constitutes a violation of fundamental rights.”
The company also called the supply chain risk designation an “unprecedented action—one historically reserved for US adversaries, never before publicly applied to an American company.”
Despite Trump’s announcement on Anthropic, however, the Pentagon has agreed to similar safeguards from rival OpenAI, Axios reported, citing an anonymous source. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
