Ranking Member Coons statement on Pentagon–Anthropic dispute

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, released the following statement after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Pentagon to label Anthropic a supply chain risk:

"The Trump administration's decision to label Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security weakens free enterprise, harms innovation, and makes Americans less safe. Anthropic refuses to allow its systems to be used for only two purposes - to conduct mass surveillance of Americans or for fully autonomous military operations without a human-enabled off switch. These are commonsense policies that vast majorities of Americans support because it protects them and their constitutional rights.

"The Pentagon may have disagreements with Anthropic, but when this administration takes a page out of Xi Jinping's playbook and tells our leading companies to embrace the party line or lose its contracts, we send a signal to American businesses that working with our government is a dangerous gamble that stifles the innovation and partnership we need to win the AI race that will define this century. The decision to label Anthropic a supply chain risk will likely be thrown out in court, but the consequences will be lasting. I urge the department to immediately reverse course."