Trump orders federal agencies and contractors to cut off Anthropic over its AI-use limits

On February 27, 2026, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies and military contractors to halt business with Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of AI models, giving the government roughly six months to phase out its products. The order followed the breakdown of contract negotiations with the Pentagon, which had used Claude on its classified networks and sought access "for all lawful purposes." Anthropic's acceptable-use policy maintained two redlines: that its technology would not be used in fully autonomous weapons, nor in the mass domestic surveillance of U.S. citizens.

Announcing the move in a Truth Social post on Friday afternoon, Trump cast the company's refusal as defiance, calling it a "disastrous mistake" and accusing Anthropic of trying to dictate terms to the Department of Defense. The administration framed the cutoff as a response to the company's stated positions rather than to any defect in its products.

The order opened a broader retaliation campaign: on March 5, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth formally designated Anthropic a "supply chain risk" — a label normally reserved for firms tied to foreign adversaries — recorded separately in this archive. This archive records the February 27 order as the campaign's opening act, distinct in date and in specific action from the later designation.