Donald Trump Signals Potential Shift in Stance Toward Anthropic AI

US President Donald Trump has indicated a shift in the government’s stance toward Anthropic. In a recent interview, Trump has suggested that the company’s AI models could still play a role in US government operations despite earlier restrictions. Speaking in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Trump said discussions with the company had taken place at the White House and that a potential agreement with the Department of War (DoW) remains under consideration.

His remarks come more than a month after he directed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology and labelled the company a national security risk. “They came to the White House a few days ago, and we had some very good talks with them, and I think they’re shaping up. They’re very smart, and I think they can be of great use,” Trump told CNBC. This comes after the Pentagon designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk in March, stating that its technology could pose a threat to US national security. The designation, which has been historically reserved for foreign adversaries, makes Anthropic the first American company to receive it and requires defense contractors to certify that they do not use Claude AI models in their military work.

At that, Trump also directed all federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology” in a Truth Social post, adding that his administration would “not do business with them again.” Later on, Anthropic filed lawsuits against the Trump administration in San Francisco and Washington, DC, seeking to reverse its blacklisting. After that, Trump’s social media directive was temporarily blocked by a US judge. However, tensions between the two sides appear to be easing, particularly after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with senior administration officials last week to discuss the company’s new Mythos model. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attended the meeting, which a White House spokesperson described as “productive and constructive.”

Earlier this month, Anthropic announced the Mythos AI model and limited its rollout to a small group of companies due to its cybersecurity capabilities. The company said it has been engaged in “ongoing discussions” with US government officials about the model. The launch of Mythos followed the peak of Anthropic’s dispute with the Pentagon, but it appears to have created an opportunity for the company to re-engage with the administration. For example, Amodei joined a call with Bessent and Vice President JD Vance earlier this month to discuss AI cyber readiness, along with other major tech CEOs. Founded in 2021, the AI startup signed a $200 million contract with the Pentagon in July last year, but discussions over deploying Claude on the DoW’s GenAI.mil platform broke down in September 2025. The Pentagon sought broad access to Anthropic’s models for all lawful uses, while Anthropic wanted guarantees that its technology would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance. Since then, the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement.