President Donald Trump has ordered every federal agency to stop using technology from Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the chatbot Claude, after the firm’s unusually public dispute with the Pentagon over AI safety — a ban that could bar one of the world’s most valuable AI startups from the entire US government.
Trump said on Friday that he was ordering all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology, calling the company “leftwing nut jobs” and writing on Truth Social: “We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” Most agencies must stop using Anthropic’s AI immediately, but the president gave the Pentagon a six-month period to phase out the technology already embedded in military platforms. He also said Anthropic could face “major civil and criminal consequences” if it is not helpful during the phase-out.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk, a move that could prevent US military vendors from working with the company. In a social media post, Hegseth said that effective immediately, no contractor, supplier or partner that does business with the US military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic. The designation is typically stamped on foreign adversaries, and it could derail the company’s critical partnerships with other businesses.
A deadline that ran out on Friday
The ban followed a standoff over the military’s use of Anthropic’s models. Hegseth had given Anthropic until 5:01 p.m. on Friday to agree to allow unrestricted military use of its AI technology or face consequences, and the company failed to meet the deadline. Anthropic had sought narrow assurances from the Pentagon that Claude would not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons, and its chief executive, Dario Amodei, said the company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Defence Department’s demands.
Anthropic had been providing its AI model, Claude, on the Pentagon’s classified network since 2024. The company said it had not yet received direct communication from either the Pentagon or Trump about the designation, and it has promised to challenge the designation in court. The legal basis for the directives remains unclear, and government contractors doing business with Anthropic have been warned to monitor developments closely.
The General Services Administration has already moved to implement Trump’s directive, issuing a press release on Friday evening that it was removing Anthropic from USAi.gov and the Multiple Award Schedule programme.
A different story from the IPO
This is a separate story from the Anthropic IPO, which ReportRig covered yesterday: investors have balked at a reported $1.5 trillion valuation for the company’s planned listing. The federal ban lands on top of that commercial pressure, and Anthropic says it will fight the designation in court — Friday’s news is unlikely to be the end of the dispute.
Related coverage: Anthropic IPO Valuation Cut as Investors Balk at $1.5 Trillion | Wall Street Rebounds Friday as Nasdaq Rises After AI Rout
