U.S. President Donald Trump, in a statement delivered from Washington D.C. on February 27, 2026, ordered every federal agency in the U.S., including the Pentagon, to immediately stop the use of Anthropic's AI technologies, such as Claude, across the country.
Anthropic, an AI company based in San Francisco, had refused to offer unrestricted access to its technologies for national security reasons, fearing the creation of mass surveillance technologies and autonomous lethal weapons.
This decision by Trump, posted on Truth Social, will give the company a six-month wind-down period.
Anthropic has now been labeled a "critical supply-chain risk to national security" by the U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, thereby blacklisting the company from working with military contractors.
This decision ends the potential $200 million deal with the Department of Defense after negotiations over the deadline failed to materialize.
Trump Bans Federal Use of Anthropic AI Over Security Concerns
Anthropic resisted Pentagon's Hegseth Ultimatum to drop safeguards blocking domestic spying or killer robots without human oversight. DoD uses Claude in classified nets but wants "all lawful purposes" access. Trump called it a "radical left, woke company" trying to "coerce" the military.
Pentagon Anthropic Dispute Sparks AI Ban
For months, tensions had been escalating between the Pentagon and Anthropic regarding whether Claude’s full potential should be made available.
The Pentagon had given Anthropic an ultimatum with a deadline of February 27th to lift its ethical constraints on its AI models.
Anthropic, however, refused to back down even after being reassured by DoD that its AI models would be protected against misuse, such as spying illegally.
Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s description of the situation as a “supply chain risk” is reminiscent of the previous accusations against Huawei, which resulted in Anthropic being side-lined from defense work.
Anthropic Claude Faces Government Phase-Out
Federal agencies now have six months to fully ditch Claude across unclassified and secret systems as part of Trump's sweeping order.
The phase-out disrupts ongoing projects in analysis, logistics, and intelligence where Claude proved efficient.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly backed Anthropic's stance, warning of broader risks in unchecked AI for weapons or surveillance.
Meanwhile, xAI's Grok and Google's Gemini models remain fully approved for DoD use without such hurdles.
This shift forces quick migrations, raising costs and delays for government operations reliant on advanced AI tools.
AI Ethics Vs National Security in Trump Order
Anthropic is still looking forward to a large IPO despite the looming shadow cast by the federal government's ban.
The organization's leadership is set to take their case to court, claiming that being termed a national security risk is unjust.
The ban represents a test case for America's reliance on private AI companies as rivals like China are racing ahead with their versions without such restrictions.
While opponents see ethics guidelines as a hindrance to innovation, proponents see it as a necessary evil that acts as a speed breaker against dystopian technology.
Check: Zohran Mamdani Meets Trump Again: Why Now?
Trump's order is clear: security comes first, and so does pushing against corporate red lines.
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