Defense Experts Rally for Anthropic: Congress Hears Powerful Opposition to Pentagon’s Controversial Move
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, was recently observed after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19, 2026. Following this event, a bipartisan group of 30 former defense and intelligence officials and policy experts directed a letter to Congress demanding an investigation into the Pentagon’s designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk. This coalition expressed deep concern about the implications of such a label, which, according to them, is intended “to protect the United States from infiltration by foreign adversaries.”
The group referred to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent decision against Anthropic as a “profound departure” from established norms that could set a troubling precedent. Hegseth made this announcement on X, following an executive order from former President Donald Trump that directed federal agencies to halt their use of Anthropic’s technologies. The company’s Claude models have gained substantial traction, particularly in enterprise applications, raising questions about the motives behind this sudden policy shift.
In their letter, the signatories criticized the move to penalize a U.S. company for its refusal to eliminate safeguards against mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weaponry. They described it as a “category error” with consequences that extend far beyond this immediate conflict. This letter was addressed to the chairs and ranking members of both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, suggesting that the repercussions of this decision may pose a risk to the broader national security landscape.
Notable signatories of the letter include retired Vice Admiral Donald Arthur, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Diana Banks Thompson, and Inflection AI CEO Sean White. They collectively emphasized that the U.S. is in an urgent race in artificial intelligence, one that it cannot afford to lose. “Blacklisting one of America’s leading AI companies,” they argued, “does not strengthen our competitive position. It weakens it.”
The group urged Congress to wield its oversight authority to counter what they termed an inappropriate use of executive power. They also called for legal frameworks to protect the U.S. from foreign threats, rather than punishing American firms for disagreements with the administration.
This letter followed the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)—which includes major players like Nvidia, Google, and Anthropic-sending a similar message to Hegseth. The ITI insisted that disputes should be settled through negotiations or established procurement processes rather than through emergency designations reserved for imminent threats posed by foreign adversaries.
In light of the White House’s directive, several defense technology companies have instructed their employees to cease using Anthropic’s Claude service, according to reports from CNBC. The rapid transition underscores the urgent need for clarification about the policies impacting domestic tech firms that play a critical role in the nation’s security infrastructure.
As the discourse surrounding AI safety and national security intensifies, the future implications of these measures remain to be seen. What’s clear is that the pushback from industry leaders and defense experts signifies a growing concern over U.S. innovation and competitiveness in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Tags: Anthropic, AI safety, national security, Pentagon investigation, Defense Secretary Hegseth, technology policy, U.S. competitiveness, executive authority, supply chain risk.
Original Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/05/defense-experts-defend-anthropic-to-congress-slams-pentagons-move.html
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Publish Date: 2026-03-05 15:30:00
