Trump Orders Anthropic Removal, US State Department Officially Moves to OpenAI

US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent (photo: x @EconomicClubMN).

JAKARTA - The United States government has begun to gradually stop using Anthropic artificial intelligence company technology. This is done, after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to no longer use the company's products, including the Claude platform, this week.

The US Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, as well as federal housing financing agencies have reportedly ended their cooperation with Anthropic. This move marks a major blow to the AI company amid tensions related to technology security policies.

The US Department of the Treasury confirmed the suspension. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his post on the X platform, stated that his agency would stop all use of Anthropic products, including Claude.

The director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), William Pulte, also said that his agency, along with the US housing finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would stop all use of Anthropic products.

Meanwhile, the US State Department decided to switch to OpenAI to support their internal chatbot known as StateChat. Based on an internal memo, the model that previously used Anthropic technology will now be replaced by OpenAI's GPT-4.1.

"For now, StateChat will use GPT4.1 from OpenAI," the memo said, adding that further information would be provided later.

The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

President Trump on Friday, February 27, directed the government to stop cooperating with Anthropic. The Pentagon even stated that it would designate the AI company as a supply-chain risk, a move that could further limit Anthropic's access to government contracts.

Trump also said that the process of discontinuing the use of Anthropic products would last for six months for the Department of Defense and other agencies that still use it.

The decision is seen as an extraordinary rebuke from Washington against one of the leading AI companies, which has been considered instrumental in maintaining the United States' dominance in the field of artificial intelligence, which is crucial for national security. With the policy, Anthropic risks being ostracized, a status that was previously generally only given to suppliers from enemy countries.

On the other hand, OpenAI announced a separate deal on Friday night to deploy its technology on the US Department of Defense's classified network, strengthening its position in the federal government environment.

This move shows a major shift in the strategy of adopting AI technology in the United States government, as well as emphasizing the dynamics of intense competition between artificial intelligence development companies at the global level.