Elizabeth Warren accused President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of trying to “extort” an American AI firm as Trump moved to cut the company off from the federal government.
The Massachusetts Democrat charged that the administration pressured Anthropic to strip safeguards from its artificial intelligence systems so the Pentagon could deploy them without restriction.
She warned that removing those limits would clear the way for “mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, with no human decision-makers, that can kill with impunity.”
“Congress needs to put in place restrictions to stop this Administration from using bipartisan national security authorities to bully and punish American companies that won’t advance their authoritarian agenda,” Warren stated.
Is the Trump administration punishing Anthropic because it’s refusing to help mass surveil American communities or build killer robots?
The American people deserve to know what Trump officials are planning at the Pentagon.
Secretary Pete Hegseth must testify. https://t.co/yuheioyS5u
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 27, 2026
Warren, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, demanded that Hegseth appear before Congress.
She urged him to “immediately” testify and explain “this extraordinary abuse of power and address the serious adverse national security consequences of his decision.”
She escalated the charge in a post on X, asking, “Is the Trump administration punishing Anthropic because it’s refusing to help mass surveil American communities or build killer robots?”
She added, “The American people deserve to know what Trump officials are planning at the Pentagon.”
The clash erupted after Trump ordered agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology. In a Truth Social post written in all capital letters, Trump declared that “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS!”
He directed “EVERY Federal Agency” to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” using the company’s products and announced a six-month phaseout for departments already relying on them.
“We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” Trump wrote, warning that he would “use the Full Power of the Presidency” if the company failed to cooperate during the transition.
Hegseth followed by labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security. He announced that the Defense Department would bar military contractors, partners and suppliers from working with the firm.
This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon.
Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) February 27, 2026
“Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic,” Hegseth posted.
He accused the company of “a cowardly act of corporate virtue-signaling that places Silicon Valley ideology above American lives.”
The dispute traces back to a $200 million Pentagon contract signed last summer. Anthropic was among several firms selected, but its internal policies prohibit its AI model Claude from being used for fully autonomous lethal weapons or mass domestic surveillance.
Administration officials have denied plans to use the software for either purpose. They have also argued that the Pentagon cannot accept private restrictions on how it deploys AI so long as it complies with U.S. law.
Anthropic refused to bend. “No amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons,” the company stated Friday.
The company warned that branding it a national security threat would cross a line. “Designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk would be an unprecedented action—one historically reserved for US adversaries, never before publicly applied to an American company,” it said. “We are deeply saddened by these developments.”
Anthropic described the move as “legally unsound” and said it would challenge the administration in court if officials follow through.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
cc: @AnthropicAI @DarioAmodei pic.twitter.com/FLCByLHF73
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 27, 2026
The standoff intensified after the Defense Department delivered what it called a final offer Wednesday night. The Pentagon asked Anthropic to permit access to Claude for “all lawful purposes.” The company responded that “virtually no progress” had been made in negotiations.
Chief Executive Dario Amodei outlined the firm’s position in a statement. “I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries,” he wrote.
He noted that the company has “worked proactively to deploy our models to the Department of War and the intelligence community.”
He cautioned, however, that “AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values,” pointing to “mass domestic surveillance” and “fully autonomous weapons” as core concerns.
Amodei concluded that the company “cannot in good accede” to the department’s demands but said it would “remain ready to continue our work to support the national security of the United States.”
Trump framed the fight as a national security battle. “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution,” he wrote.
“Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY.”
Sen. Ed Markey, Warren’s fellow Massachusetts Democrat, condemned the administration’s action. He called the designation “a reckless and unprecedented attempt to destroy an American AI company.”
“This is not a routine classification — it is an attempt to cripple an American firm for requesting legitimate safeguards on use of its AI model,” Markey said. “That is unacceptable. I’m calling for immediate congressional action to reverse this decision.”
The market reacted within hours. Anthropic’s chief rival, OpenAI, announced a separate agreement to deploy its technology at the Defense Department.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that the arrangement would honor the company’s “prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance” and “human responsibility for the use of force.” He did not outline how those standards differ from Anthropic’s restrictions.
