President Donald Trump issued a blistering executive directive Friday, ordering all federal agencies to immediately begin a total phase-out of technology from Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI firm, after its leadership attempted to dictate terms to the United States military.
The move comes as the administration continues its aggressive “America First” overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, including the newly rebranded Department of War. The president’s order effectively shuts out Anthropic—maker of the “Claude” chatbot—from the U.S. government, citing the company’s refusal to allow its technology to be used for “all lawful purposes” by American warfighters.
In a characteristically bold statement on Truth Social, President Trump made it clear that private tech corporations will no longer hold veto power over national security.
“THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS!” Trump wrote. “That decision belongs to YOUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF… The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War.”
The President set a six-month deadline for agencies to migrate their systems away from Anthropic technology, warning that “major civil and criminal consequences” could follow if the company fails to cooperate during the transition.
Sources indicate the tension reached a breaking point following the successful January operation to capture former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. While Claude was utilized for intelligence analysis during that mission, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei reportedly balked when the Pentagon sought to expand the AI’s role into “unrestricted” kinetic operations and enhanced surveillance.
Amodei issued a defiant statement Thursday, claiming his company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the military’s demands. He cited self-imposed “red lines” regarding fully autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance—limitations the administration views as a direct challenge to the Constitutional authority of the Executive Branch.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has been leading the charge to modernize the military’s tech stack, had previously issued an ultimatum to Anthropic: allow unrestricted military use or face the consequences.
“We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said this week.
Officials have signaled that Anthropic may be designated a “supply chain risk,” a label typically reserved for foreign adversaries like Huawei or TikTok. Such a designation would effectively freeze the company out of the private defense sector entirely.
The move has sent shockwaves through the tech industry. While Elon Musk’s AI has positioned itself as the “anti-woke” alternative—with Musk himself stating that “Anthropic hates Western Civilization”—other industry leaders have circled the wagons.
In a surprising turn, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sided with his rival Amodei, questioning the administration’s use of the Defense Production Act to force compliance. Meanwhile, internal friction is reportedly growing at Google and OpenAI, where hundreds of employees have signed an open letter supporting Anthropic’s “safeguards.”
As the six-month phase-out begins, the administration is expected to shift its multi-million dollar AI contracts toward more cooperative partners. Both Elon Musk’s AI and Palantir, led by Alex Karp, are positioned to absorb the vacuum left by Anthropic’s exit.
For the Trump administration, the message is clear: Silicon Valley’s “ethical guardrails” stop at the water’s edge when American lives and national security are on the line.
.png)
.png)
