Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Drop Anthropic's Claude AI Within Six Months

Tensions continue to grow between the AI ​​company Anthropic and Washington. In a recent development, President Donald Trump recently directed all federal agencies to terminate their use of Anthropic’s AI technology, following a public disagreement with the Department of Defense.

Trump orders federal agencies to phase out Anthropic AI following Pentagon standoff

The core of the dispute lies in a new mandate from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Pentagon requested that AI providers agree to “any lawful use” of their technology. This sounds like a normal legal requirement, but Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei publicly refused to sign the new agreement.

According to reports, Anthropic’s primary concern involves two specific “red lines.” The company believes its AI models, such as Claude, should not be used for mass domestic surveillance or the development of lethal autonomous weapons—systems capable of tracking and killing targets without human intervention. Amodei stated that the company supports military operations broadly. However, he thinks these specific cases could undermine democratic values.

The federal response

The reaction from the White House was swift and definitive. In a series of public statements, President Trump accused the company of attempting to “strong-arm” the military and prioritize its own terms of service over national security. As a result, all federal agencies that are currently using Anthropic’s products will have six months to stop doing so.

The administration’s stance is clear: the Commander-in-Chief and military leaders, not private tech companies, should dictate how the armed forces operate. The president further warned of potential civil and criminal consequences if the company fails to cooperate during the transition period to other service providers.

Google and OpenAI staff support Anthropic’s position

The fallout from this decision is rippling through the tech world. Hundreds of employees from Google and OpenAI have signed an open letter titled “We Will Not Be Divided.” The move aims to show support for Anthropic’s position. The letter urges tech leadership to stand together against government demands for autonomous lethal systems and mass surveillance.

Interestingly, the standoff is forcing other major players to clarify their own boundaries. According to an Axios report, internal memos show that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that his company plans to set similar limits on how its models can be used. That said, both OpenAI and xAI have reportedly engaged with the new Pentagon terms.

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