Former defense and intelligence officials took the Anthropic supply-chain dispute to Capitol Hill on March 5, sending a letter to the chairs and ranking members of both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees.
Signatories confirmed by CNBC include retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Donald Arthur, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Diana Banks Thompson, Council on Foreign Relations analyst Kat Duffy, and Inflection AI CEO Sean White. Their letter argues the designation constitutes a category error with consequences that reach beyond this procurement dispute. Stanford CISAC senior researcher Herbert Lin told CNBC the Pentagon’s stated rationale is “all very puzzling.”
Secretary Hegseth announced the designation via official statement on February 27. While Hegseth made that announcement via official statement, legal analysts note that formal written action under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act is required to takefull legal effect. Multiple defense tech companies have directed employees to stop using Claude following White House orders. Anthropic has stated it will challenge any formal supply-chain designation in court. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration continues using Claude in Iran war operations during the six-month phase-out period.
The Information Technology Industry Council sent Hegseth a letter on March 4 noting the designation tool is typically reserved for foreign adversaries. That letter stayed inside executive branch channels. Taking the fight to Armed Services Committee leadership is a
different calculation entirely.
As of March 5, 2026, the congressional route marks a deliberate escalation. Bipartisan support for defense AI readiness could complicate the designation’s path before formal written action takes effect. Compliance teams supporting defense contractors should watch
the committee response closely.