Industry group representing Apple voices concern to Pentagon over Anthropic ban

Source: 9to5Mac

Letter, however, doesn’t mention Anthropic by name

Last Friday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth published a post on X saying that he had directed his department to “designate Anthropic a Supply‑Chain Risk to National Security.”

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

The decision followed weeks of discussions over a $200 million contract that included two clauses Anthropic refused to accept, involving the use of its technology for domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons.

Under this designation—never before applied to a domestic company—“no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.” The move sent shock waves through the industry, raising fears that any company could be next if it failed to meet the government’s requirements.

Background

Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, tech CEOs have been bending over backwards to remain in the administration’s good graces, fearing retribution that has often taken the form of tariffs and regulatory threats. Being designated as a Supply‑Chain Risk to National Security took things to a new level, which is why, as Reuters reported, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) sent a letter to Hegseth expressing concern.

Letter details

According to Reuters, the ITI letter did not directly name Anthropic, instead focusing on the designation and its potential consequences:

“We are concerned by recent reports regarding the Department of War’s consideration of imposing a supply chain risk designation in response to a procurement dispute,” the Information Technology Industry Council, whose members include Nvidia, Amazon.com, and Apple, said in a letter dated Wednesday.

The letter, sent to Hegseth on Wednesday, also stated that the declaration threatens “to undermine the government’s access to the best‑in‑class products and services from American companies that serve all agencies and components of the federal government,” according to a copy seen by Reuters.

Reuters says that, in the letter, the council’s CEO Jason Oxman argued that designations such as the Supply‑Chain Risk to National Security “exist for genuine emergencies and are typically reserved for entities that have been designated as foreign adversaries,” adding that such disputes should be resolved through established procurement channels, or by selecting alternative providers.

Department of Defense response

In response, the Department of Defense said that it will follow its standard practice to “respond directly to the authors as appropriate.”

Further reading

To read Reuters’ full report, follow this link.