In a statement on Truth Social, President Trump instructed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic products following the company’s public disagreement with the Department of Defense. A six-month phase-out period was permitted for departments currently utilizing these products, but the president made it clear that Anthropic would no longer be accepted as a federal contractor.
“We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again,” the president stated.
Importantly, the statement does not reference plans to invoke the Defense Production Act or label Anthropic as a supply chain risk. Instead, the President encouraged the company to cooperate during the six-month phase-out period, warning of “major civil and criminal consequences” if it did not comply.
The conflict arose over Anthropic’s refusal to allow its AI models to be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, a position that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth deemed overly restrictive.
CEO Dario Amodei reaffirmed his position in a public post on Thursday, refusing to yield on these matters.
“Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters — with our two requested safeguards in place,” Amodei wrote. “Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to ensure a smooth transition to another provider, minimizing disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions.”