Despite recently being designated a supply chain risk by the Pentagon, Anthropic is still in talks with high-ranking members of the Trump administration.
There were earlier signs of a thaw in the relationship — or a sense that not every part of the administration wanted to cut Anthropic — with reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had encouraged the heads of major banks to try out Anthropic’s new Mythos model.
Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark appeared to confirm this, claiming that the ongoing fight over supply chain risk characterization is a “close contract dispute” that will not interfere with the company’s willingness to inform the government of its latest models.
Then on Friday, Axios said that Bessent and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amotei. In a statement, the White House described the meeting as an “introductory meeting” that was “productive and constructive.”
“We discussed opportunities for cooperation, as well as common approaches and protocols to address the challenges associated with scaling this technology,” the White House said.
He likewise published the Human a statement confirming that Amodei had met with “senior administration officials for a productive discussion about how Anthropic and the US government can work together on key shared priorities, including cyber security, America’s lead in the AI race, and AI security.”
The company added that it “looks forward to continuing these discussions.”
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The dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon appears to have started after failed negotiations over the use of Anthropic models by the military. the artificial intelligence company has sought to maintain safeguards over the use of its technology for fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. (OpenAI quickly announced a military deal of its own, leading to some consumer backlash.)
The Pentagon then declared Anthropic a supply chain risk — a label generally reserved for foreign adversaries that could severely limit the government’s use of Anthropic’s models. The company is challenging this determination in court.
But it appears the rest of the Trump administration doesn’t share the Pentagon’s hostility, with a government source telling Axios that “every agency” except the Department of Defense wants to use the company’s technology.
