Just weeks ago, Anthropic was on the outs with the Trump administration. The Pentagon had declared the AI firm a supply-chain risk. A lawsuit was filed. The relationship appeared broken.
Now, the president is singing a different tune.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Anthropic was “shaping up” in the eyes of his administration, opening the door for the AI company to reverse its blacklisting at the Pentagon. The shift is sudden. The implications are significant.
Trump directed the government in February to stop working with Anthropic. The Pentagon followed up by declaring the firm a supply-chain risk, dealing a major blow to the artificial intelligence lab after a showdown over guardrails for how the military could use its AI tools. The company disputed that characterization and filed suit against the Defense Department in March over the determination.
The Meeting That Changed Things
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with White House officials last week to attempt to repair the relationship. The White House called the meeting productive and constructive. That language is diplomatic. But the outcome is concrete.
“They came to the White House a few days ago, and we had some very good talks with them,” Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “And I think they’re shaping up. They’re very smart, and I think they can be of great use. I like smart people. I think we’ll get along with them just fine.”
When asked if a deal was on the horizon with the Pentagon, Trump said, “It’s possible. We want the smartest people.”
That is not a commitment. But it is a door opening. And for a company that was blacklisted just months ago, an open door is progress.
The Dispute That Started It All
The original conflict between Anthropic and the Pentagon centered on guardrails. Anthropic wanted limits on how the military could use its AI tools. The Pentagon saw those limits as unacceptable restrictions. The Trump administration sided with the Pentagon. The blacklisting followed.
Anthropic filed suit, arguing that the supply-chain risk designation was unwarranted. The company has consistently maintained that it wants to work with the military — but on its own terms. The Trump administration’s February directive suggested those terms were non-negotiable.
Now, the administration appears to be softening. Whether that is because Anthropic has adjusted its position or because the Pentagon has adjusted its needs is unclear. What is clear is that both sides are talking again.
Anthropic, asked for comment, referred to its Friday statement describing its White House meeting as productive and focused on how the two “can work together on key shared priorities such as cybersecurity, America’s lead in the AI race, and AI safety.”
The Mythos Factor
The apparent rapprochement comes weeks after Anthropic unveiled Mythos, its most advanced AI tool, with a potentially unprecedented ability to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities and devise ways to exploit them, experts have said. That is not a small capability. An AI that can find and exploit vulnerabilities is an AI with obvious military applications.
Anthropic has said the Claude Mythos Preview will not be made generally available. Instead, the company announced Project Glasswing, in which it invited major tech companies, cybersecurity vendors, and U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase, along with several dozen other organizations, to privately evaluate the model and prepare defenses accordingly. The message is clear: this is powerful technology, and we are being careful with who gets access.
Anthropic Co-founder Jack Clark said last week that the firm was discussing its frontier AI model Mythos with the Trump administration without providing details. Those discussions are now bearing fruit. The White House meeting. The president’s positive comments. The possibility of a Pentagon deal.
What This Means
If Anthropic and the Pentagon reach a deal, it would be a major reversal. A company that was blacklisted as a supply-chain risk would become a military contractor. A lawsuit would likely be dropped. And the guardrails that Anthropic wanted — the ones that sparked the original conflict — would have to be renegotiated.
The Trump administration’s interest in Anthropic is not ideological. It is practical. The United States is in an AI race with China. The Pentagon wants the best technology. Anthropic has some of the best technology. The question is not whether the military will use advanced AI. It is the question of which companies will provide it.
Anthropic wants to be one of them. The Trump administration, after months of conflict, appears open to that possibility.
The Bottom Line
President Trump said Tuesday that Anthropic is “shaping up” in the eyes of his administration, opening the door for the AI company to reverse its Pentagon blacklisting. Trump directed the government in February to stop working with Anthropic, and the Pentagon declared the firm a supply-chain risk after a dispute over guardrails for military use of its AI tools. Anthropic sued. CEO Dario Amodei met with White House officials last week. Trump called the meeting productive and said a Pentagon deal is “possible.” The rapprochement comes weeks after Anthropic unveiled Mythos, its most advanced AI tool with potential cybersecurity applications.
The company that was on the outs is now back in the conversation. Whether that conversation leads to a contract — and on what terms — is the next chapter in the story.
