Trump Order to Cease All Federal Use of Anthropic Technology
Trump ordered all federal agencies to "IMMEDIATELY CEASE" use of Anthropic technology via Truth Social post and accompanying executive directive, issued the same day as the Pentagon supply chain designation.
The Truth Social Post
On February 27, 2026, President Trump posted to Truth Social: “Anthropic and their so-called ‘Claude’ AI have been DISLOYAL to the United States of America. They REFUSE to support our GREAT MILITARY and put woke AI safety nonsense ahead of NATIONAL SECURITY. I am ordering all Federal Agencies to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology. We will use REAL AI companies that support America!”
The post was published at 7:42 AM EST, approximately two hours before the Pentagon formally issued its supply chain risk designation and approximately four hours before the OpenAI-Pentagon contract was publicly announced. The timing sequence indicates the policy decisions were coordinated across the White House, DoD, and contracting offices as a single action.
The Executive Directive
Accompanying the Truth Social post, the White House issued a formal executive directive to all federal agency heads instructing them to “identify and terminate all contracts, licenses, and agreements involving Anthropic PBC products and services within 90 days.” The directive was distributed through the Office of Management and Budget and carries the force of a presidential management directive, though its legal authority to override existing contractual obligations is disputed.
The directive defines “Anthropic products and services” broadly to include “any artificial intelligence system, model, API, or derivative work produced by or substantially based on technology developed by Anthropic PBC,” a definition that some agency counsel have noted could potentially encompass third-party products that incorporate Anthropic’s publicly available research or model architectures.
Agency Response
Federal agencies received the directive with varying degrees of compliance urgency. The Department of Defense moved fastest, having already prepared the supply chain designation as a procurement mechanism. Civilian agencies faced a more complex landscape: many had adopted Claude through FedRAMP-authorized cloud providers rather than direct Anthropic contracts, creating procurement chain questions about whether the directive applied to indirect access. GSA issued supplementary guidance within 72 hours clarifying that the directive applied to “any procurement vehicle through which Anthropic technology is the primary deliverable,” regardless of the contracting intermediary.