Anthropic sues Pentagon over unprecedented supply chain risk designation amid AI guardrails dispute

Anthropic sues US over national security blacklist

Brands Trump administration decision 'legally unsound' and has 'no choice but to challenge it in court' AI giant Anthropic says that it has "no choice" but to sue the US government after being officially designated a supply chain risk to national security. CEO Dario Amodei confirmed on Thursday that the Department of War - an alternate name given to the Department of Defense under the Trump administration - notified the company of its long-rumored decision on March 4 via letter. The designation, typically reserved for foreign adversaries, marks the first time a US company has been classified this way, and effectively bars Anthropic from securing military contracts. Amodei believes the decision is not "legally sound," and said "we see no choice but to challenge it in court." The relationship breakdown stems from Anthropic's refusal to let the government strip its safety guardrails, a move that would have allowed its AI to be used for fully autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance. A day after Anthropic stated publicly that it would not allow its tech to be used in this way, President Trump used his own social media platform to brand it "A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY," which made a "DISASTROUS MISTAKE" in trying to "strong-arm" the government into obeying its terms of service. Trump accused Anthropic of ignoring the US Constitution and trying to take control of military operations from military commanders, before ordering all federal departments to stop using its products. Amodei said in his latest missive: "we are very proud of the work we have done together with the Department," and in the previous days have had "productive conversations" about the ways in which it could work with the government while adhering to its two non-negotiables. "As we stated last Friday, we do not believe, and have never believed, that it is the role of Anthropic or any private company to be involved in operational decision-making - that is the role of the military," he said. "Our only concerns have been our exceptions on fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance, which relate to high-level usage areas, and not operational decision-making." Amodei also apologized for the tone of an internal memo sent to Anthropic employees, which was leaked on March 4, shortly after Trump's social media tirade. "Anthropic did not leak this post nor direct anyone else to do so - it is not in our interest to escalate this situation," he said. "It was a difficult day for the company, and I apologize for the tone of the post. It does not reflect my careful or considered views. It was also written six days ago, and is an out-of-date assessment of the current situation." The leaked memo followed the announcement of OpenAI striking a deal with the Department of War to use its AI tech for military applications. In a statement outlining its perspective on the deal, OpenAI claimed its agreement "has more guardrails than any previous agreement for AI deployments, including Anthropic's," with explicit red lines against autonomous weapons, high-stakes automated decisions, mass domestic surveillance, and use by intelligence agencies like the NSA. As The Register previously reported, in the same statement, originally published on February 28 and updated on March 2, OpenAI said it disagreed with the government's decision to designate Anthropic a supply chain risk. "A good future is going to require real and deep collaboration between the government and the AI labs," it said. "As part of our deal here, we asked that the same terms be made available to all AI labs, and specifically that the government would try to resolve things with Anthropic; the current state is a very bad way to kick off this next phase of collaboration between the government and AI labs." On why it succeeded where Anthropic apparently did not, OpenAI pointed to enforceability: cloud-only deployment, a functioning safety stack, and cleared personnel kept in the loop. "We don't know why Anthropic could not reach this deal, and we hope that they and more labs will consider it." "Based on what we know, we believe our contract provides better guarantees and more responsible safeguards than earlier agreements, including Anthropic's original contract." The Department of War did not respond to a request for comment. ®

White House AI Memo Hits Issues Driving Anthropic-Pentagon Feud

The memo's language addresses some concerns raised by the Pentagon and Anthropic during contract negotiations, and some officials think it could offer a path for the Pentagon to voice concerns about Anthropic while keeping the firm's technology in military systems. White House officials are preparing a wide-ranging artificial intelligence policy memo that outlines requirements for AI deployment by national security agencies, some of which touch on issues driving the bitter dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic PBC over military use of the firm's technology, according to people familiar with the matter. In the works for months, the draft memo urges US agencies to use multiple AI providers to avoid the vulnerability of relying on a single vendor, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations. It also calls for AI companies that contract with the Department of Defense to agree not to interfere with the military's chain of command, where the president has the final say, the people said. The memo, which is subject to change and covers an array of related priorities, is intended to replace the Biden administration's national security memorandum for AI and isn't specific to Anthropic or the Pentagon, the people emphasized. Still, with its call for a range of AI vendors, some officials think the document could offer political cover for the Pentagon to quietly back down on its claim that Anthropic -- until recently the only AI company approved for classified work -- posed a threat to the supply chain by insisting on safeguards for use of its products. A senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the matter, said the memo isn't designed to create any kind of off-ramp in the Pentagon's conflict with Anthropic. Rather, the official said, the administration aims to onboard other vendors as quickly as possible, so that "when" Anthropic is removed from government systems, the US has the necessary technology to support military operations. The official added that the administration wants to work with all American companies in the long term. Asked to clarify the White House's position on Anthropic, the official referred to President Donald Trump's social media post calling for federal agencies to cease use of the company's technology. Spokespeople for the White House, the Pentagon and Anthropic declined to comment. Axios first reported that the White House was working on guidance that would allow government agencies to "get around" the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk. The memo doesn't lift that declaration. But its language, details of which have not previously been reported, addresses some of the concerns raised by the Pentagon and Anthropic during increasingly tense contract negotiations that ultimately broke down over the issue of guardrails. In a nod to the Pentagon's priorities, the people said, the memo would require that AI models used by the military aren't changed without government permission and are free from ideological bias. It also affirms that AI companies must strictly adhere to the chain of command -- but stops short of requiring that companies agree to "all lawful use" of their products, which is the specific language the Pentagon has demanded in military agreements. Other sections of the document touch on key areas of concern for Anthropic. Those include a requirement for defense and intelligence agencies to add language in contracts reinforcing constitutional protections and assuring vendors that their AI technology wouldn't be used for unauthorized surveillance, according to people familiar with the memo. The document would also mandate annual updates of Pentagon regulations governing autonomous weaponry, the people added. Taken together, some officials think those terms offer a path for the Pentagon to voice concerns about Anthropic while keeping the firm's technology in military systems alongside providers like xAI and Alphabet Inc.'s Google, the people said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had outlined a six-month transition period for the Pentagon to phase out Anthropic, whose Claude Gov AI tools are used by Palantir Technologies Inc. in the Maven Smart System, an AI-enabled mission control platform that US armed forces have used in operations against Iran. It could still be a messy road ahead as multiple lawsuits by the company play out. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court declined Anthropic's request to pause the Pentagon's supply chain risk designation, even as plans for a broader government ban on its technology remain temporarily blocked by a California judge. White House officials had been working behind the scenes to untangle the feud ahead of the Pentagon's late February deadline for Anthropic to drop its demands for guardrails, people familiar with the matter said. Vice President JD Vance, Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross were among those trying to cool tensions, the people said. Even Trump's statementBloomberg Terminal on Truth Social, posted shortly before the Pentagon's ultimatum expired, made no mention of supply-chain risk, though he did order government agencies to sever ties with Anthropic. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Plus Signed UpPlus Sign UpPlus Sign Up By continuing, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The search for a solution accelerated this month following Anthropic's announcement that its new Mythos AI model could pose a global cybersecurity risk, according to people familiar with the matter. On April 17, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and other administration officials met with Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei at the White House, where topics discussed included Mythos, the people said. Wiles has become more involved in AI policy, including with the memo, the people said. The White House memo is taking shape as the Trump administration pursues wider government access to Mythos, which has demonstrated an extraordinary capability for finding vulnerabilities in computer networks. Its release has been limited by the company for now to a handful of financial institutions and technology companies to test their networks. The White House opposed a recent proposal by Anthropic to expand that group. So far, most federal agencies have not been given the ability to use to Mythos, though Gregory Barbaccia, federal chief information officer of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in an email that OMB is setting up protections that could allow their agencies to begin using the closely guarded AI model. Last week, Trump signaled that the US would ultimately have a good relationship with Anthropic, a significant shift in tone after months of tensions with the company. In a CNBC interview, Trump said US officials had "very good talks" with Anthropic executives, adding "I think we'll get along with them just fine."

Pentagon tech chief says Anthropic is still blacklisted, but Mythos is a separate issue

Emil Michael, under secretary of defense for research and engineering nominee for US President Donald Trump, during the Hill & Valley forum at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Defense Department CTO Emil Michael on Friday said Anthropic is still a supply chain risk, but that Mythos, the company's artificial intelligence model with advanced cyber capabilities, is a "separate national security moment." "I think the Mythos issue that's being dealt with government wide, not just at Department War, is a separate national security moment where we have to make sure that our networks our hardened up, because that model has capabilities that are particular to finding cyber vulnerabilities and patching them," Michael told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday.

Pentagon keeps Anthropic barred despite Mythos interest

Emil Michael says agencies are evaluating the cybersecurity model, not deploying it Pentagon CTO Emil Michael pushed back on reports of a thaw in the department's relationship with Anthropic: The two are not getting back together, even as Mythos draws interest from government agencies. The DoD CTO told CNBC's Becky Quick on Friday that, as far as his department is concerned, Anthropic is still a supply chain risk that it doesn't want in its systems. He didn't appear to believe things were any different with regard to Anthropic elsewhere in the federal government, but confirmed recent reports that some agencies have accessed Mythos for evaluation purposes rather than operational deployment. "The Mythos issue ... is a separate national security moment," Michael said. "We have to make sure our networks are hardened up because that model has capabilities that are particular to finding cyber vulnerabilities and patching them." Rumors that the administration's stance toward Anthropic, following an acceptable use dispute with the Pentagon, was softening have been swirling since mid-April, when it was reported that the National Security Agency was using Mythos. That, in turn, fueled speculation that the government might move toward broader adoption of the model, reinforced by CEO Dario Amodei's visit to the White House last month, but Michael insists that's not the case. "With Anthropic, they're a supply chain risk," Michael said in the interview on Squawk Box. "From a national security standpoint, you always have to look at those things. The NSA and Commerce evaluates all frontier models, including Chinese frontier models, to see what the capabilities are at the edge." In other words, the official line from the administration at this point seems to be that any use of Mythos at a federal agency is just model analysis, and thus business as usual. That doesn't mean the government isn't seeking to make use of any similarly capable models that might arise, like ChatGPT 5.5-Cyber, as AI leaders from multiple firms were reportedly planning to meet at the White House soon to discuss Mythos and the cybersecurity risks posed by emerging AI models. "We think about the first drop being Mythos, but there's going to be others," Michael said on CNBC. "The government's looking for how to work with all of these companies in the coming year so that their capabilities are understood by us first so that we can fix any issues we have in the private and the public sectors." Neither the Pentagon nor Anthropic responded to questions for this story. ®

Trump’s Potential New AI Executive Order May Take a Swipe at Anthropic

An executive order reportedly being mulled by President Donald Trump could deepenâ€"or, who knows, resolve?â€"its ongoing conflict with Anthropic. Yesterday I wrote about reports that Trump was working on creating an AI “working group†by executive order. This group would be made up of government officials and members of the tech industry, and one of its roles might be to devise a review process for unreleased AI models. In other words, after promising a light regulatory touch, Trump might be dipping his toe into creating some AI guardrails. I noted that the Times’ sources compared Trump’s potential working group to a similar group in the process of being created in the U.K., and that that group was spurred into existence by the revelations of security vulnerabilities brought about by Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview model. Yesterday afternoon, the AI companies Microsoft, xAI, and Google all signed deals allowing a Biden-created arm of the Commerce Department called the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), to inspect their new models prior to release. Anthropic wasn’t included, but it did sign a similar agreement with CAISI under President Biden in 2024. But new information reported by Politico about the in-progress order says it may prohibit companies from “interfering†with government uses of AI. This is according to four of Politico’s seven anonymous sources cited in the story. To refresh your memory, Anthropic has been blacklisted by the Pentagonâ€"ostensibly for interfering with the government’s use of its models. It’s a bizarre story with many unanswered questions, but on its face, Anthropic appears to have refused to lift guardrails aimed at preventing the Pentagon from engaging in mass surveillance or full automation of weapons systems, which resulted in a standoff, threats, and ultimately the designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk, and the requirement that all Pentagon contractors cut all business ties with it. It’s not clear what this even is. Language about “interfering†could either reinforce Anthropic’s pariah status within the Trump Administration, attempt to circumvent it somehow, seek to resolve the matter while saving face, or be purely symbolic. So far the White House has not addressed any of the specific reports about this order, telling Politico discussion before the order is announced is “speculation.â€

Trump administration blocks Anthropic's Mythos rollout

The Trump administration has told Anthropic it disagrees with a controlled rollout that would bring its dangerous cyberattack-capable AI to roughly 120 organisations in total, even as the White House simultaneously explores an executive order to bring Anthropic back into federal government use. The White House has told Anthropic it opposes the company's plan to expand access to Mythos, its advanced cybersecurity AI model, to roughly 70 additional companies, according to Bloomberg, which cited an administration official speaking anonymously. The development was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Anthropic declined to comment. Mythos, announced in early April through Anthropic's Project Glasswing initiative, is a model capable of autonomously finding and exploiting vulnerabilities across a wide range of critical software, a capability Anthropic deemed too dangerous for general release. The company has instead been allowing a limited set of organisations to test it on their own systems. Its plan to expand that initial group from approximately 50 to 120 organisations has drawn a direct objection from the Trump administration on two grounds. First, security concerns about the potential for misuse, and a more operational worry that Anthropic does not have enough computing power to serve 120 entities without degrading the government's own ability to use the model effectively. The compute concern is not incidental. Part of the motivation behind Anthropic's current $900 billion fundraising consideration is specifically to secure sufficient infrastructure to run Mythos at scale. The National Security Agency is among the government agencies currently using Mythos, and the White House's concern appears to be that broadening the rollout competes with that access. The White House objection arrives in the context of an already fraught rollout. On the same day Anthropic announced its limited release plan, a small group of unauthorised users in a private online forum gained access to Mythos. The breach, the details of which remain unclear, underlined the gap between Anthropic's controlled-access design and the practical difficulty of containing access to a model of this capability, and has intensified government anxiety about any further expansion of the user base. The model's capabilities are not in dispute. Mythos Preview autonomously discovered thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities across every major operating system and web browser in testing, succeeded on 73% of expert-level capture-the-flag cybersecurity tasks, and became the first model to complete a 32-step simulated corporate network attack end-to-end. These are not hypothetical risks. They are documented capabilities that the US government has both cited as a security threat and apparently sought to monopolise for its own use through the NSA's access. What makes Wednesday's objection striking is its juxtaposition with a separate, simultaneous development; the White House is also currently developing an executive action that would allow government agencies to work around the Pentagon's supply chain risk designation of Anthropic and onboard its models, including Mythos. The Pentagon designated Anthropic an unprecedented national security supply chain risk in early 2026, following a breakdown in negotiations over whether the US military could use Claude for autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance, two uses Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei has publicly said he will not permit. The White House is simultaneously convening companies across sectors this week to inform that draft executive action, including 'table reads' of possible guidance, while also telling Anthropic it opposes its Mythos expansion plan. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei earlier this month in what both sides described as a productive introductory meeting. The official White House line, that it is 'balancing innovation and security while cooperating with the private sector', does not resolve the apparent contradiction between those two tracks. The Mythos dispute is the most visible flashpoint in a genuinely novel regulatory situation: a company whose AI model is simultaneously used by the NSA, opposed by the Pentagon, courted by the White House for re-integration, and now blocked from expanding access to the civilian companies it had approved. The outcome of this week's conversations will shape not just Anthropic's rollout plans but the broader question of how the US government intends to govern AI models capable of offensive cybersecurity operations.

Washington has a new Anthropic problem

Why it matters: That tension is shaping AI policy in real time, as the White House realizes it needs the company it's been fighting. Driving the news: The White House is inching toward welcoming Anthropic back into the government fold after months of animosity and legal battles with the Pentagon because its most advanced models are too powerful to ignore. The big picture: The Trump administration's goal on AI has been to be as hands-off and pro-innovation as possible. But as models get more powerful, that stance is breaking down. * Washington is stepping in, shaping policy around who gets access to the most advanced systems and how they're deployed, driven by growing urgency over what the technology can do. Flashback: The standoff started earlier this year when talks broke down over how the Pentagon could use Anthropic's AI in classified settings. * That led to public spats, lawsuits, new deals struck with other frontier AI companies, and the unprecedented move to label Anthropic as a supply chain risk, a designation usually reserved for foreign adversaries. * The White House at one point considered an executive order meant to weed out Anthropic from government systems entirely, as Axios previously reported. Yes, but: The government couldn't ice Anthropic out for long. * That realization sunk in as its powerful model Mythos rolled out and agencies -- despite the Pentagon spat -- started testing it along with other AI companies' most advanced cyber models. * As the Pentagon and Anthropic continued to battle in court, the White House kicked off a thaw with the company. What they're saying: "When you're regulating by contract, it's basically creating a huge amount of power in the agency that's negotiated that contract and then becomes effectively the de facto policy of the administration," Jessica Tillipman, associate dean for government procurement law studies at George Washington University, told Axios. * "When other agencies don't like that decision, that's when you start to see these carve outs because they don't want to be bound by what was effectively a failed negotiation by Pentagon." Responding to a Wall Street Journal report that said the government opposed Anthropic's plans to expand access to Mythos to more companies due to a lack of compute, an Anthropic spokesperson said in a statement: * "We are working closely with the US government to quickly advance shared priorities, including cybersecurity and America's lead in the AI race." * "Compute is not a constraint ... and we are engaged in collaborative conversations with the government on bringing additional parties in. We appreciate the administration's continued partnership as cyber capabilities advance." The White House is mulling an executive action that could address both government use of advanced AI systems and carve a path forward in its dispute with Anthropic, Axios scooped earlier this week. * Talks are in flux, per sources familiar with meetings with the White House this week, and no draft guidance addressing these issues is final. * Tech and cyber companies, along with trade groups, have been participating in meetings broadly touching on these topics. What we're watching: It's unclear whether any executive action will resolve the standoff with the Pentagon, which hasn't dropped its disdain for the company. * Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said Anthropic is "run by an ideological lunatic who shouldn't have a sole decision-making over what we do" during testimony on Capitol Hill. Maria Curi contributed to this report.

White House against Anthropic expanding Mythos model access: report

San Francisco (United States) (AFP) - The White House is opposing Anthropic's plans to expand access to its new artificial intelligence model Mythos to 120 companies, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. President Donald Trump's administration and Anthropic had only recently started to mend ties following a dispute over the AI firm's refusal to grant the military unconditional use of its software. Anthropic has withheld the powerful Mythos model from public release citing potential cybersecurity risks and concerns it could be exploited by hackers. Instead it shared a version with selected companies including Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia under a project called "Glasswing" to help improve their security infrastructure. The AI startup proposed expanding access to the model to some 70 additional companies, which would bring the total number of organizations with access to around 120, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. The White House, which has been at loggerheads with Anthropic for months, opposed the expansion over security concerns, according to the Journal. Authorities were also reportedly worried that Anthropic does not have sufficient computing power to share the technology with the additional companies without hindering the government's ability to use it. In February, Trump instructed the US government to "immediately cease" using Anthropic's technology after Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a national security supply chain risk. The company behind the Claude chatbot is now fighting these measures in court. Tensions eased after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with US officials at the White House this month for discussions, which the company described as "productive." Earlier this week, Anthropic said it was investigating unauthorized access to Mythos after Bloomberg News reported that a small group of users in a private online forum had gained access. The California-based developer says Mythos can spot undiscovered security loopholes that have existed for decades, in systems tested by both human experts and automated tools. But the company has also been accused of overhyping the powers of a technology that is its stock in trade, and the subject of neck-and-neck competition with rival OpenAI.

Pentagon inks AI procurement deals with seven companies, leaves out Anthropic - SiliconANGLE

Pentagon inks AI procurement deals with seven companies, leaves out Anthropic The U.S. Defense Department today announced that it has inked artificial intelligence procurement contracts with seven tech firms. The group includes Amazon Web Service Inc., Google LLC, Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp., OpenAI Group PBC and SpaceX Corp. They are joined by a startup called Reflection AI Inc. that raised $2 billion in funding last year. Notably absent from the list is Anthropic PBC, which the Trump administration designated as a supply chain risk in February. The Pentagon will make the participating companies' products available through an internal AI portal called GenAI.mil. According to GeekWire, more than 1.3 million Defense Department personnel have adopted the platform since its launch last year. Those users have built hundreds of thousands of AI agents. The AI products covered under the newly issued contracts will be used in Impact Level 6 and Impact Level 7 environments. Those are Defense Department systems that can be used to store classified information. According to Nextgov/FWC, the goal of the AI initiative is to ease data synthesis and streamline decision-making workflows. It's unclear what AI products the contracts encompass. Nvidia, which is best known for its graphic cards, also offers neural network development tools. Additionally, it has released an open-source large language model series based on a Mamba-Transformer architecture. The Transformer architecture underpins most LLMs, while Mamba is a competing technology with lower memory requirements. SpaceX, which has also won an AI contract from the Pentagon, became an LLM provider earlier this year after it merged with xAI Holdings Corp. The deal bought the aerospace company the Grok family of language models. SpaceX may soon expand its AI portfolio by acquiring Cursor's Composer series of coding models. Reflection AI, the only company on today's list of Pentagon contract winners that isn't a household name, was founded in 2024 by former Google DeepMind researchers. It hasn't yet announced a commercial product. Last year, TechCrunch reported that Reflection AI plans to release a language model trained on tens of trillions of tokens. The Pentagon's decision not to issue a contract to Anthropic isn't surprising. In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a supply chain risk. The designation prohibits the Pentagon from using Claude and also limits defense contractors' access to the LLM series. Hegseth announced the decision after Anthropic declined to let the Pentagon use Claude for "all lawful" purposes. The company was concerned that such contractual language would allow its AI models to be used for domestic mass surveillance or the development of autonomous weapons. In March, Anthropic filed suit to challenge its designation as a supply chain risk. The Defense Department is reportedly using the company's Claude Mythos Preview model despite the ban. A number of other federal agencies have also adopted the model. Anthropic announced Claude Mythos Preview last month, but has not yet made the LLM publicly available because it's highly adept at finding zero-day or yet-undiscovered cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

White House, Pentagon drift apart on Anthropic fight

The White House and the Pentagon are taking significantly different approaches to how -- and whether -- the federal government uses Anthropic's artificial intelligence systems. As the White House warms up to the frontier AI company and the Pentagon digs its heels in against the firm, government employees and contractors are left in a bind. "For providers dependent on a specific model, this creates confusion," an industry source operating inside federal agencies told The Hill. "Most are taking a dual-track approach to wait for clarity while preparing internally to transition from Anthropic to alternative models if needed." Pentagon keeps firm in Anthropic fight Just more than two months have passed since the Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic from its military work after a dispute with the company over the potential use of its AI models for domestic surveillance or fully autonomous attacks. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to ban Anthropic from the Pentagon, President Trump took a step further and told civilian agencies to stop using its products as well. A federal judge temporarily paused Trump's directive, allowing agencies to continue using Anthropic's products after weeks of shutdowns, lapses and inconsistent access to the AI tools across different agencies. Anthropic is challenging its designation as a supply chain risk -- typically reserved for foreign adversaries -- in court, and Department of Defense leaders indicated as recently as last week they are not planning to back down. Hegseth slammed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as an "ideological lunatic" during a Senate hearing last week, telling lawmakers the firm would not agree with the Pentagon's terms of service. He compared it to "Boeing giving us airplanes and telling us who we can shoot at." A day later, the Defense Department's chief technology officer, Emil Michael, told CNBC that Anthropic is still a supply chain risk, reiterating the Pentagon has directed department offices to remove the product from their work within six months, with some exceptions. White House extends an olive branch Meanwhile, other administration leaders, including Trump himself, have signaled otherwise in recent weeks. Prior to Michael's CNBC appearance, Trump told the outlet a deal between the Defense Department and Anthropic is "possible." "They're very smart, and I think they can be of great use. I like smart people, I like high-IQ people and they definitely have high IQs," the president said. "I think we'll get along with them just fine." The comment came less than two months after the president called the company a "radical, left woke company" that employs "leftwing nut jobs." "They're logically inconsistent and it further undermines their argument that this is somehow a supply chain risk company and it further undermines and demonstrates how this was a completely misused process," Jessica Tillipman, the associate dean for government procurement law studies at the George Washington University Law School, told The Hill on Tuesday. "They've now adopted completely inconsistent positions across the government where one agency continues to dig its heels on this ridiculous designation, and the rest is trying to actually work in reality," she added. Trump's flip on Anthropic is the latest sign of his unpredictable nature, particularly on technology policy issues, often displaying a large reaction in the moment before softening his tone and reversing course in some instances. During his first term, Trump frequently criticized TikTok and rallied support for banning the social media app from the U.S., only to reverse course during his second term and cut a deal to preserve access to it. The president was also a fierce critic of the cryptocurrency industry during his first term before embracing its political and financial benefits during his 2024 presidential campaign. Asked by CNBC whether the Pentagon could find a way to move forward with Anthropic as the White House continued conversations, Michael sidestepped, deferring to the White House. Anthropic signed a deal with the Pentagon in 2024 and was the only company allowed to work in the agency's classified networks in recent years. Amid the fallout with Anthropic, at least eight leading AI companies have agreed to deploy their models in classified networks, though it is not clear what terms of service they agreed on. The role of Mythos The release of Mythos, Anthropic's latest and most advanced model, may have helped spur the White House's new approach to the company. The model, which Anthropic said was capable of finding decades-old vulnerabilities in web browsers, bank infrastructure, and software, sparked alarm in Washington and on Wall Street. Mythos may help big banks and government entities to patch up their systems and protect against hackers, experts said. But the powerful new AI model could also pose serious dangers in the wrong hands, threatening to fulfill the warnings of technology and AI safety groups. In the wake of its release, several administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and reportedly White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, spoke with Anthropic and other technology companies about the benefits and risks of Mythos. Amodei also went to the White House last month to discuss the product and his relationship with the Trump administration. Several civilian agencies have requested and gotten access to Mythos, and Axios reported last week that the White House is floating guidance to allow civilian agencies to use Anthropic, despite Trump's previous directive to agencies to stop using the product. "I see this frankly as the White House allowing the Pentagon to try to save face on one hand, while still negotiating on the other," Tillipman said. "And not in a great way, because there's really no way to save face on this." "You either like the product and you had a dispute with them and you move on, or you think they're a legitimate supply chain risk," she added. Michael, speaking to CNBC, seemingly tried to separate Mythos from the larger conversation about Anthropic. He called Mythos a "separate national security moment" and added, "We have to make sure that our networks are hardened up because the model has capabilities that are particular to finding cyber vulnerabilities and pitching them." The National Security Agency, housed within the Pentagon, is reportedly testing and using Mythos, along with other cyber- or technology-based agencies.

White House And Pentagon Clash Over Anthropic AI Use As Trump Says Deal Is 'Possible'

The White House and Pentagon are taking opposing positions on whether federal agencies should use Anthropic's artificial intelligence systems, escalating a dispute over national security risks and government access to advanced AI tools. Pentagon Moves To Restrict Anthropic The Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic from military work after concerns about potential misuse of its AI for surveillance and autonomous weapons systems, ordering agencies to remove its products within six months. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized the company's leadership, calling CEO Dario Amodei an "ideological lunatic" during a Senate hearing last week, and comparing the situation to "Boeing giving us airplanes and telling us who we can shoot at." Pentagon officials have labeled Anthropic a "supply chain risk," a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries, and have ordered its removal from defense systems within months, with limited exceptions. President Donald Trump has signaled a more flexible stance, told CNBC that a deal with Anthropic is "possible," and praised its technical talent. "They're very smart and I think they can be of great use," he said. Jessica Tillipman, a government procurement law expert, said the federal approach has become inconsistent. "They've now adopted completely inconsistent positions across the government," she told The Hill. She added, "One agency continues to dig its heels... and the rest is trying to actually work in reality." US Split Over Anthropic AI Risk And Access Earlier, U.S. officials remained divided over Anthropic's AI systems, with the Pentagon labeling its Claude models a supply chain risk and considering phasing them out across agencies. Pentagon tech chief Emil Michael said Anthropic's Mythos model could help identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities but described it as a "separate national security moment" requiring broader government safeguards. White House officials were drafting an AI policy for national security agencies promoting the use of multiple AI providers and exploring ways to allow controlled access to Mythos despite the Pentagon's concerns. The dispute came as Amodei engaged with White House officials in efforts to resolve tensions following a Pentagon ban and a lawsuit over its risk designation. Despite the conflict, federal agencies were still considering limited access to Mythos under proposed safeguards, highlighting ongoing uncertainty in U.S. AI policy. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Image via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

White House Crafts Plan to Bring Anthropic Back Into Government Fold | PYMNTS.com

The administration is drafting an execution action that could reverse the Office of Management and Budget's directive that limits the use of Anthropic products in the government, according to the report. The White House told Axios, per the report, that it works with frontier AI labs and other organizations to benefit the economy and the country. "However, any policy announcement will come directly from the President and anything else is pure speculation," the White House said, according to the report. Currently, since the White House imposed restrictions on the use of Anthropic products, government agencies can use the company's models while a legal battle between Anthropic and the Pentagon continues, according to the report. However, cooperation between the government and the company is complicated, per the report. The White House told federal agencies in late February to stop using Anthropic's AI products, marking a sharp escalation in a dispute that started inside the Defense Department but expanded to touch the broader government. President Donald Trump said the federal government would no longer work with Anthropic and that agencies using Anthropic's Claude models would get a six-month phaseout period. The decision came just ahead of a Pentagon deadline for Anthropic to agree that the military can use the company's models in "all lawful use cases," a concession the company refused. Anthropic wanted contract language that would prohibit use of its models for autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. Soon after the White House announced this decision, Anthropic said it was planning legal action to challenge the government's action in court. On April 17, it was reported that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was meeting with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in the West Wing to resolve the dispute. By that time, Anthropic's Mythos model was causing widespread concern about cybersecurity. Anthropic had been briefing government officials about Mythos and was in talks to give government agencies early access to the model.

Pentagon Keeps Anthropic Claude Ban, Separates Mythos Amid 'National Security' Concerns - Amazon.com (NAS

On Friday, the Pentagon's tech chief said Anthropic's Claude models remain a supply chain risk, and other departments might phase out their usage over the months. Emil Michael, on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday, highlighted that Mythos, the AI model, with its advanced cyber capabilities, could potentially identify and rectify cyber vulnerabilities. He called it a "separate national security moment." He also stated that some "exceptions" can be granted based on complexities in integration. However, he said Mythos was a separate issue. Michael underscored that the issue with Mythos is not limited to the Department of Defense (DOD) but is a broader concern that requires government-wide attention. He emphasized the need for network fortification to counter the risks associated with the AI model. Pentagon Signs AI Deals With Major Firms Michael said the Defense Department still wants guardrails, but their terms are "negotiable" based on varied views of different companies. White House AI Push After Anthropic Talks This development follows recent reports of the Trump administration's attempts to bypass Anthropic's supply chain risk designation and potentially deploy Mythos for government use. The White House was reportedly drafting an executive action to find a workaround. The move was preceded by a meeting between White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, which was described as a "productive introductory meeting" on potential collaborations. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Image via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

White House Drafts Sweeping AI Guidelines Amid Anthropic Tensions

White House officials are working on developing an artificial intelligence policy that will outline requirements for AI usage across national security agencies. The memo, which touches on the ongoing dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic, encourages U.S. agencies to use multiple AI providers to avoid relying on a single model, sources told Bloomberg. The policy also notes that AI companies in contract with the Department of Defense must agree not to get involved in the military's chain of command, in which the president is the final decision maker. It was previously reported that the Trump administration is developing a strategy to bypass Anthropic's supply chain risk designation, potentially allowing the onboarding of its powerful AI model, Mythos. Earlier this month, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. The meeting was described as a "productive introductory meeting" on potential collaborations between the government and the company. Following the meeting, President Donald Trump said the artificial intelligence company was improving its standing with his administration, raising the prospect that the Pentagon could revisit its ban. The memo is designed to replace the Biden administration's AI policy rather than target specific entities like Anthropic or the Pentagon. It is understood to cover a broad range of topics and is subject to ongoing changes, sources told Bloomberg. The document notes that defense and intelligence agencies add language that protects constitutional rights and prohibits unauthorized surveillance. The memo also establishes a requirement for yearly updates to the Pentagon's autonomous weapon guidelines. Photo: White House in Washington DC under blue sky | Photo Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

White House fights Anthropic's plan to expand Mythos tool that experts fear could cause AI doomsday

The White House is reportedly fighting Anthropic's plan to expand access to Claude Mythos - a powerful AI tool that company execs have warned could cause a wave of hacks and terror attacks if it fell into the wrong hands. Anthropic recently proposed giving an additional 70 companies access to Mythos, bringing the total number to 120 organizations, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Just earlier this month, the firm announced "Project Glasswing," a plan to provide the model to a select group of handpicked companies including Amazon, Google and JPMorgan. White House officials have told Anthropic that they are against the move to broaden the rollout because of security concerns, sources said. A nightmarish analysis from Anthropic itself earlier showed that Mythos could easily exploit electric grids, power plants and hospitals if hacked. Some Trump administration officials are also reportedly concerned that Anthropic does not have enough computing power to serve both government agencies and the additional companies. A White House official told The Post that the Trump administration is actively engaging with the private sector while trying to balance innovation and security. Anthropic did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. Talks between White House officials and Anthropic execs over the Mythos rollout are reportedly seen as an attempt to repair their relationship, as the two are currently entangled in a legal battle working its way through the court in two separate cases. Earlier this year, the Pentagon scrapped its contract with Anthropic and threatened to blacklist the company after it refused to give the government unchecked access to its AI tools, seeking restrictions on their use for mass surveillance or weaponry. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, and other senior officials on April 17. Certain government agencies already have access to Mythos, and the Trump administration is working to expand those permissions. Last week, Anthropic said it is investigating potentially unauthorized access to Mythos - intensifying fears around the AI doomsday that could break out if the tool was fully unleashed. Bloomberg reported that a handful of users were able to hack into Mythos on April 8, the same day that Anthropic revealed it was only making the tool available to handpicked corporate clients. Since gaining access, the hackers have been using Mythos "regularly," but not for cybersecurity purposes, according to the news outlet. The AI tool is getting so good at sniffing out and exploiting cybersecurity bugs that Anthropic has been giving security researchers early access to the platform as a preventative measure. Anthropic has recently struck several deals with firms including Amazon, Google and Broadcom to increase its access to computing power over concerns that limited compute could restrict its growth.