Senator Elizabeth Warren just accused President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of trying to “extort” the AI company Anthropic. According to The Hill, Warren claims it’s an attempt to remove critical guardrails from Artificial Intelligence programs to “advance their authoritarian agenda.”
Warren said in a statement that this move would ditch “common sense guardrails that protect Americans from mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, with no human decision-makers, that can kill with impunity.” She’s calling on Hegseth to testify before Congress right away to explain what she sees as an “extraordinary abuse of power” and to address the national security risks involved.
Trump directed federal agencies to “immediately cease” using Anthropic technology, accusing their “Leftwing nut job” leaders of trying to “STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution.” Following this, Hegseth and the Defense Department (DOD) labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security. This means any U.S. military contractor, partner, or supplier is now banned from working with Anthropic.
Anthropic only wanted to keep us safe from AI being misused
The whole dispute revolves around a $200 million contract Anthropic signed with the Pentagon last summer. The deal hit a snag because Anthropic has a policy preventing its AI model, Claude, from being used for fully autonomous lethal weapons or mass domestic surveillance. They argue that AI is still unreliable, especially in these circumstances. These are the kinds of ethical boundaries many in the tech world believe are crucial.
Another Bay State Democrat, Senator Ed Markey, echoed Warren’s concerns, calling the administration’s label “a reckless and unprecedented attempt to destroy an American AI company.” Markey emphasized that this isn’t just a routine classification; it’s an effort to “cripple an American firm for requesting legitimate safeguards on use of its AI model.” He’s pushing for immediate congressional action to reverse the decision.
Anthropic itself called the “supply chain risk” label “legally unsound” and warned that it sets a “dangerous precedent.” In a statement, the company pointed out that such a designation is usually “reserved for US adversaries, never before publicly applied to an American company.” They expressed deep sadness over these developments. Being treated like an enemy of the state when you’re trying to set ethical standards must be incredibly frustrating.
The Pentagon and Anthropic have been locked in negotiations over the AI company’s terms of service. The DOD had threatened to cancel its contract if Anthropic didn’t agree to its terms by Friday afternoon. The department delivered its “last and final offer” on Wednesday night, asking for access to Claude for “all lawful purposes.”
However, Anthropic stated on Thursday that “virtually no progress” had been made. Their CEO, Dario Amodei, noted in a separate statement that they simply could not “in good conscience” accept the Pentagon’s terms. Considering recent instances of AI also causing lapses in security, I think that Anthropic’s stand is important and needed.
Published: Mar 1, 2026 05:24 pm