Anthropic is back on Trump’s ‘right side’ after Pentagon feud, Lutnick says- What changed?

Anthropic's relationship with the Trump administration has taken an unexpected turn. Months after the AI company became the target of Pentagon action over restrictions on military use of its Claude models, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the administration once again trusts the company.

"We trust Anthropic."

"They've done what we asked. They're back on the right side. So the answer is: Yes," Lutnick told Axios' Mike Allen in an interview on Tuesday when asked whether he trusted Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei.

The comments mark a striking change in tone for a company that recently found itself in a legal confrontation with the US government over the use of its technology.

From Pentagon blacklist to G20 stage

The change in relations was on display in North Carolina on Wednesday, where Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown appeared at the G20 Innovation Ministerial with Lutnick.

Rather than treating Anthropic as a company at odds with Washington, Lutnick gave Brown a prominent role in the technology-focused gathering.

"Really excited for our conversation, so I'd like to introduce you all to Tom Brown, one of the founders of Anthropic," Lutnick said.

He then encouraged Brown to explain the company to an international audience.

"I don't think they know you so well. Anthropic, of course, is famous, but a little story helps."

Brown's appearance offered another indication that the two sides are moving towards cooperation, particularly around the infrastructure required for the rapid expansion of AI.

Why Anthropic and the US military ended up in court

The relationship deteriorated after Anthropic refused to allow the US government to use Claude for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons.

That position brought the company into conflict with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who blocked Anthropic from certain military contracts.

Anthropic challenged the government's actions in federal court. The company secured an important victory in August when a judge sided with it in its fight with the American military over AI safety on the battlefield.

The court also struck down the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, ruling that the government's actions violated the company's constitutional rights.

Anthropic is still pursuing a separate legal challenge involving another Pentagon designation under a different statute in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Anthropic now finds common ground with Trump administration

While the dispute centred on military applications of AI, Anthropic has increasingly found areas where its interests overlap with the administration's economic priorities.

One of those areas is data centre construction, which has become critical as AI companies race to secure computing capacity.

Brown praised Trump's recent comments supporting data centres and their economic impact.

"I really love Trump's post from earlier this week... where he was pointing out that the data centers are just an enormous source of prosperity," Brown said.

"They produce a ton of jobs. They produce taxes. Now the way that we design them, we actually bring on more power to the grid," he said.

Brown also highlighted Anthropic's support for the administration's ratepayer pledge.

Tom Brown emerges as key figure in the reset

Brown has played a prominent role in repairing the company's relationship with Washington. He held several discussions with Lutnick as well as National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross as Anthropic sought to navigate the fallout from its confrontation with the Pentagon.

That effort now appears to be producing results.

Lutnick's comments do not erase the disagreements that took Anthropic and the US government to court, nor do they resolve the company's remaining legal battle with the Pentagon. But they point to a significant shift in how the administration is engaging with one of America's leading AI companies.

For Anthropic, the change comes at a consequential moment as the company seeks to expand its technology and infrastructure while continuing to draw boundaries around how its models can be used.