Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO

AnthropicAdd to myFTGet instant alerts for this topicManage your delivery channels hereRemove from myFTPete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEOAI start-up’s Dario Amodei summoned to Washington after trying to limit military use of its technologyDefence secretary Pete Hegseth is negotiating with AI labs, including Google, OpenAI and xAI, to integrate their technology into classified military systems © BloombergPete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on x (opens in a new window)Pete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on facebook (opens in a new window)Pete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on linkedin (opens in a new window)Pete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Pete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on x (opens in a new window)Pete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on facebook (opens in a new window)Pete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on linkedin (opens in a new window)Pete Hegseth threatens to cut Anthropic from Pentagon supply chain in showdown with CEO on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save George Hammond in San Francisco and Steff Chávez in WashingtonPublishedFebruary 24 2026UpdatedFebruary 24 2026Jump to comments sectionPrint this pageUnlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldUS defence secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened to cut Anthropic from his department’s supply chain unless it agrees to sign off on its technology being used in all lawful military applications by Friday. The threat is the latest escalation in a feud between Anthropic and the department, triggered by the AI group’s refusal to give unfettered access to its models for classified military use, including domestic surveillance and deadly missions with no direct human control.Hegseth summoned Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei to Washington for a meeting on Tuesday. During tense talks, the defence secretary threatened to cut the company out of the department’s supply chain or to invoke the Defence Production Act, a cold war-era measure enabling the president to control domestic industry in the interest of national defence, said a person with knowledge of the talks. Anthropic confirmed the meeting took place on Tuesday. “We continued good-faith conversations about our usage policy to ensure Anthropic can continue to support the government’s national security mission in line with what our models can reliably and responsibly do,” it said.Amodei has held firm on the company’s red lines. Failure to agree terms by Friday evening would lead to Anthropic being cut from the Pentagon’s supply chain and could trigger legal action in response, said people with knowledge of the matter. The disagreement threatens to widen a faultline between the White House and one of the US’s leading AI labs.Anthropic has pushed for tighter regulation of AI and Amodei has repeatedly warned of the risks of the technology. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his advisers have promoted a light-touch regulatory framework.Trump’s AI tsar David Sacks has derided Anthropic as “woke” and last October accused the $380bn company of “running a sophisticated regulatory capture strategy based on fear-mongering”. Those attacks echo criticisms from Elon Musk, who Sacks last year described as “a good friend”. Sacks worked with Musk at PayPal and has invested in xAI and other Musk groups. Sacks divested those positions when he was appointed to his role.But the Pentagon remains reliant on Anthropic for AI technology.

The San Francisco-based company’s Claude tool is the only model working on classified missions as a result of its partnership with Palantir.Being cut from the Pentagon supply chain is an extreme measure typically reserved for companies linked to foreign adversaries. But at the same time, deploying the DPA would suggest Anthropic’s technology is critical to Pentagon operations. Invoking the DPA would allow the Pentagon to make use of Anthropic’s tools without an agreement. The act gives the administration the ability to “allocate materials, services and facilities” for national defence. The Trump and Joe Biden administrations used the act to address a shortage of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, and Trump has also used the DPA to order an increase in the US’s production of critical minerals. Hegseth is negotiating with AI labs, including Google, OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI, to replace Anthropic and integrate their technology into classified military systems.Anthropic has expressed particular concern about its models being used for lethal missions that do not have a human in the loop, arguing state-of-the-art AI models are not reliable enough to be trusted in those contexts, said people familiar with the negotiations. It had also pushed for new rules to govern the use of AI models for mass domestic surveillance, even where that was legal under current regulations, they added.The Pentagon has pushed for open-ended use of the technology, aiming to expand the set of tools at its disposal to counter threats and to undertake military operations.The department released its AI strategy last month, with Hegseth saying in a memo that “AI-enabled warfare and AI-enabled capability development will redefine the character of military affairs over the next decade”.He added the US military “must build on its lead” over foreign adversaries to make soldiers “more lethal and efficient”, and that the AI race is “fuelled by the accelerating pace” of innovation coming from the private sector.A decision to cut Anthropic from the defence department’s supply chain would have significant ramifications for national security work as well as for the company, which has a $200mn contract with the department. It would also impact partners including Palantir, which make use of Anthropic’s models. Claude was used in the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January. That mission prompted queries from Anthropic about the exact manner in which its model was used, said people familiar with the matter. A person with knowledge of Tuesday’s meeting said Amodei had stressed to Hegseth that his company had never objected to legitimate military operations. The defence department declined to comment.Reuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments section Follow the topics in this article US companies Add to myFT US politics & policy Add to myFT Tech start-ups Add to myFT Artificial intelligence Add to myFT Anthropic Add to myFT Comments