Pentagon Calls Anthropic A ‘Supply Chain Risk’ — A Day After Commerce Secretary Backs AI Firm

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday that the Trump administration trusts Anthropic and the company is “back on the right side.”
• A federal judge ruled in August that the Pentagon illegally punished Anthropic and struck down its blacklisting as a supply-chain risk.
• Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown has taken a larger role in repairing the AI firm’s relationship with the White House following tensions over military use of its models.

Anthropic remains designated as a supply chain risk by the U.S. Department of Defense and the defense industry, despite Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying the AI company is “back on the right side.”

Pentagon Maintains Anthropic Designation

Emil Michael, under secretary of defense for research and engineering, said on Thursday that Anthropic is still considered a “supply chain risk” by the Pentagon. Michael wrote in a post on X, “Anthropic is still a designated Supply Chain Risk at @DeptofWar and for the Defense Industrial Base.”

His remarks came a day after Lutnick's comments signaled a potential thaw in relations between the AI company and the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, Lutnick told Axios on the sidelines of the G20 Innovation Summit, “We trust Anthropic.”

When asked whether he trusts Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Lutnick said, “They’ve done what we asked. They’re back on the right side. So the answer is: Yes.”

Lutnick’s comments came as Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown takes a larger role in managing the company’s relationship with the White House, including a headlining appearance at this week’s G20 Innovation Ministerial.

Anthropic Fights Pentagon Designation

In August, a federal judge also struck down the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk. The judge ruled in favor of Anthropic on August 27, determining that the Pentagon illegally punished the AI company for criticizing the government and that its decision was “baseless,” according to Axios.

However, Anthropic is still fighting a separate Pentagon designation under a different statute in the D.C. Circuit.

Trump Administration Remains Divided

The Trump administration is not entirely aligned on Anthropic following months of fighting over how the military can use its models.

Earlier this year, tensions between the Trump administration and Anthropic escalated amid personality differences, culminating in sweeping export controls on the company’s most advanced models. Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown played an instrumental role in repairing the relationship, holding multiple conversations with Howard Lutnick and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross. 

Anthropic Retail View

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for ANTHZZX was ‘bullish,’ at the time of writing on Thursday. 

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