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 ...