White House moves to remove Anthropic's AI from the government

President Donald Trump's administration is preparing an executive order that would instruct the federal government to stop using systems developed by Anthropic's artificial intelligence, according to sources familiar with the matter, quoted by Axios.

The move would formalize a process that has already begun in some agencies and aligns with Trump's stated position that his administration will not use artificial intelligence it deems "woke." According to sources, the order could be issued as soon as this week.

Legal dispute with Pentagon

The company filed a lawsuit on Monday against the U.S. Department of Defense over its designation within a Pentagon supply chain risk list.

In the lawsuit, Anthropic contends that Congress did not give the administration authority to exclude a U.S. company from federal contracts on grounds related to protected speech.

For its part, the administration has argued that certain "safeguards" built into the company's systems pose a risk to national security, given the technology sector's involvement in military operations.

A move with few precedents

During his first term, Trump used executive orders to restrict foreign tech companies for national security reasons, including actions related to the TikTok app and Chinese telecommunications companies.

However, there is little precedent for a presidential order severing ties with a specific U.S. company outside of the usual contracting processes.