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US Expands Ban on Anthropic AI Across Key Agencies

By  |  March 3, 2026
US Expands Ban on Anthropic AI Across Key Agencies

Three additional cabinet-level departments have halted the use of artificial intelligence products developed by Anthropic, widening a federal pullback that began at the Pentagon. The Departments of State, Treasury and Health and Human Services moved on Monday to discontinue the company’s tools, including its chatbot Claude, in compliance with a new White House directive.

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    According to Reuters, the actions follow an order from President Donald Trump requiring federal agencies to phase out Anthropic systems after the Defense Department designated the company a supply-chain risk. That designation typically applies to adversarial vendors and could significantly curtail the firm’s standing within the federal marketplace.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed in a post on X that his department was ending all use of Anthropic products. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services informed staff in a message obtained by Reuters that they should transition to alternative platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini. HHS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

    The State Department also indicated it was replacing the artificial intelligence engine behind its internal chatbot, StateChat. A memo seen by Reuters stated, “For now, StateChat will use GPT4.1 from OpenAI,” and noted that further details would be provided later. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in an email, “In line with the president’s direction to cancel Anthropic contracts, we are taking immediate steps to implement the directive and bring our programs into full compliance.”

    Elsewhere, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte announced on X that his agency, along with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would terminate the use of Anthropic systems.

    Related: Anthropic Refuses Pentagon Demand to Drop AI Safeguards, $200 Million Contract at Risk

    The White House directive builds on a decision announced Friday requiring the Defense Department and other federal users to complete a six-month phase-out of Anthropic technology. According to Reuters, the move comes after tense contract negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon over the scope of safeguards governing the use of advanced AI in defense applications.

    Sources familiar with those discussions told Reuters that administration officials pressed for fewer restrictions on how military and intelligence agencies could deploy the technology. The administration and Anthropic reportedly disagreed over policies related to autonomous weapons targeting and the potential use of AI for domestic surveillance.

    The decision marks a significant setback for the San Francisco-based startup, whose financial backers include Alphabet’s Google and Amazon.com. Rival OpenAI, backed by Microsoft and Amazon among others, announced late Friday that it had secured an agreement to deploy its systems within the Defense Department’s classified network.

    In a post on X Monday, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said the company would “amend” its Defense Department agreement to clarify that its AI tools would not be “intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.” He further wrote that the department understood the limitation to “prohibit deliberate tracking, surveillance or monitoring of U.S. persons or nationals, including through procurement or use of commercially acquired personal or identifiable information.”

    Source: Reuters