Anthropic's Official Statement on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's Designation
Source: https://www.anthropic.com/news/statement-comments-secretary-war Date: February 27, 2026
Core Position
Anthropic announced that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is directing the Department of War to designate the company as a supply chain risk. This action follows months of negotiations that reached an impasse over two specific exceptions Anthropic requested for its AI model Claude.
The Two Red Lines
Anthropic refused to support two applications:
- Mass domestic surveillance of Americans — which the company characterizes as violating fundamental rights
- Fully autonomous weapons — citing concerns that current frontier AI models lack sufficient reliability for such deployment
The company stated: "We do not believe that today's frontier AI models are reliable enough to be used in fully autonomous weapons."
Legal Challenge
Anthropic contests the designation on statutory grounds. The company argues that under 10 USC 3252, such designations can only restrict Claude's use in Department of War contracts — not broader commercial applications. Therefore, the company maintains that individual customers and non-military commercial users will face no disruption.
Company Response
Anthropic pledged to challenge the designation in court and emphasized: "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 expressed gratitude for public support while prioritizing customer protection during these developments.