Pentagon CTO Emil Michael says Anthropic remains blacklisted as supply chain risk despite Mythos AI model distinction

May 1, 2026

Pentagon CTO Emil Michael confirmed Friday that AI company Anthropic remains blacklisted as a supply chain risk despite ongoing discussions about its Mythos AI model with advanced cyber capabilities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a supply chain risk in late February after the company and DoD failed to agree on usage terms, forcing defense contractors to certify they don't use Anthropic's Claude models. Anthropic has filed lawsuits in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. to challenge the designation, while CEO Dario Amodei met with Trump administration officials in what both sides called productive discussions about Mythos. The Pentagon announced agreements with seven AI companies including Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft for classified network deployment, notably excluding Anthropic, though the DoD has reportedly continued using Anthropic's models for military efforts in Iran and the NSA is using Mythos.

Anthropic's supply chain risk designation and ongoing blacklisting

▪The Department of Defense declared Anthropic a supply chain risk, meaning Anthropic's technology purportedly threatens U.S. national security.
▪Department of Defense CTO Emil Michael said on Friday that Anthropic is still a supply chain risk.
▪Anthropic's lawsuits against the Trump administration in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. are still ongoing.
▪The Department of Defense and Anthropic failed to agree on how Anthropic's models could be used by the agency.
▪Anthropic sued the Trump administration in March to try to reverse the Pentagon's blacklisting.

Mythos AI model as a separate national security consideration

▪Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with senior Trump administration officials at the White House earlier this month to discuss Mythos.
▪The Mythos issue is being dealt with government-wide, not just at the Department of Defense.
▪President Donald Trump said Anthropic is very smart and could be of great use.
▪Both Anthropic and the Trump administration characterized the White House meeting about Mythos as productive.
▪President Donald Trump told CNBC that it is possible there will be a deal between Anthropic and the Department of Defense.
▪Department of Defense CTO Emil Michael said Mythos is a separate national security moment from Anthropic's supply chain risk designation.

Pentagon's broader AI partnerships and Anthropic's continued government use

▪The National Security Agency and Commerce evaluate all frontier models, including Chinese frontier models, to see what the capabilities are at the edge.
▪The Department of Defense announced on Friday that it has entered into agreements with seven AI companies to deploy their technology across the agency's classified networks for lawful operational use.
▪The National Security Agency is under the Department of Defense.
▪The seven AI companies with Department of Defense agreements include Google, OpenAI, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, SpaceX, and Reflection.
▪OpenAI announced a deal with the Pentagon hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Anthropic a supply chain risk in late February.
▪OpenAI CEO Sam Altman conceded that the timing of OpenAI's Pentagon deal looked opportunistic and sloppy.