Lutnick Says US Trusts Anthropic Again

"We trust Anthropic," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Axios, signaling an improvement in a relationship that broke down publicly this year.

"They've done what we asked. They're back on the right side. So the answer is: Yes," Lutnick said Tuesday when asked whether he trusts Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, according to Axios.

Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown has taken a larger role in the company's dealings with the White House and addressed this week's G20 Innovation Ministerial.

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

Brown praised a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump this week backing data center construction.

"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."

Brown had repeated conversations with Lutnick and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross as Anthropic worked to repair the relationship, Axios reported.

Anthropic is also challenging a separate Pentagon designation in the D.C. Circuit.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled Aug. 27 that the Pentagon acted unlawfully in punishing Anthropic over its criticism of the Department of War's views on artificial intelligence, Newsmax reported, citing The Associated Press.

The dispute with the administration began in February, when Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth accused the company of endangering national security and designated it a supply chain risk.

Amodei declined to change the company's position over concerns its products could be used for mass surveillance or autonomous armed drones.

Lin wrote that the government's actions "were based on a desire to make a public example out of Anthropic for its 'arrogance' in criticizing the government, not based on any articulable basis to believe that Anthropic would actually sabotage its model."

An Anthropic spokesperson said the company welcomed the ruling.

"We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology," the spokesperson said.

Jim Mishler ✉

Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.