President Donald Trump announced on Friday that all U.S. federal agencies must end any collaboration with the AI company Anthropic. “We don’t need them, we don’t want them, and we will never do business with them again” he said. The order applies to all agencies, but those already using Anthropic’s products-particularly the Department of Defense-receive a six‑month transition period to phase out the technology.
Trump justified the ban by claiming that a radical left‑wing, “woke” company should not dictate how America’s military conducts and wins wars. He warned that Anthropic’s attempts to pressure the DoD into adopting its own terms of use, rather than adhering to the U.S. Constitution, “endanger American lives, our troops, and national security”.
In the past, Anthropic had secured $200 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. The agency was convinced that Anthropic’s Claude model outperformed competitors and was best suited for defense and intelligence work. However, Anthropic declined to grant full access to the AI. Instead, it conditioned use on clear prohibitions against mass surveillance and the development of autonomous weapons.