The Trump administration’s decision to approve Anthropic as a federal artificial intelligence vendor is under scrutiny amid revelations that its CEO, board members, and investors have funneled more than $174 million to Democrats in recent election cycles. The development raises questions about political influence and national security at a moment when AI policy is seen as critical to America’s global standing.
CEO Dario Amodei has been openly critical of President Donald Trump, calling him a “serious and legitimate threat to the rule of law” and comparing him to a “feudal warlord” in a now-deleted pre-election Facebook post. Before the 2024 election, he endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris and donated more than $214,000 to Democratic candidates and committees, including former President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee.
Several of the Democratic Party’s largest donors are also tied to Anthropic. Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings joined the company’s board in May 2025 after giving more than $20 million to Democrats, including $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC. Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz, an early investor, gave $38 million to a Harris-aligned super PAC in 2024. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, a longtime Democratic donor and policy adviser, was also an early investor in Anthropic through his family office. Sam Bankman-Fried, the ex-FTX founder now facing fraud charges, put $500 million into the company in 2021 and personally gave $5.6 million to Biden’s 2020 campaign.
The company’s leadership also includes several figures with ties to the Biden administration, giving Anthropic the look of a Democratic insider network. Former Biden National Security Council official Tarun Chhabra now leads its national security policy, while former White House economic aide Elizabeth Kelly serves as head of beneficial deployments.
Amodei also has clashed with the administration’s policy agenda. In a June op-ed for the New York Times, he challenged Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which initially included a 10-year moratorium on state regulation of AI. He urged lawmakers to adopt a national transparency standard instead, requiring companies to disclose how they test and deploy powerful AI models. The moratorium provision was ultimately stripped from the bill before final passage.
The San Francisco-based AI company, best known for its chatbot, Claude, describes itself as a “safety-first company,” warning that AI could pose “unprecedented risks” if not developed responsibly but also “unprecedented benefits for humanity” if managed well, according to the company’s website. In July, Anthropic was awarded a Pentagon contract to develop national security AI capabilities.
A former Trump administration official who remains close to the administration said the approval raises national security concerns.
“Anthropic is a safe haven for Biden officials who are diametrically opposed to President Trump’s America First AI policy and are trying to weasel their way into the national security space,” the former official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. They added that the company has been “at the epicenter” of Effective Altruism, a Silicon Valley movement that has funneled billions into efforts to ensure advanced AI is developed safely, reflecting concerns that it could pose catastrophic risks.
The former official also argued that Anthropic is “actively campaigning against this administration’s policies” while seeking government contracts, and warned that its product is often seen in Washington as a “woke AI” platform. “There needs to be very serious scrutiny over any company that is going to have access to our national security elements, especially [the Department of Defense], when they are acting in a way that is still propping up Biden-era policies that hurt American innovation,” they said.
At the same time, Anthropic has sought to build bridges with the Trump administration. The company has supported the White House’s AI Action Plan and was highlighted in administration communications. It issued an energy report aligned with Trump-era priorities, including expediting environmental permitting for energy and infrastructure projects.
Amodei joined the president at an energy event in Pittsburgh, while Chief Product Officer Mike Krieger, the Instagram cofounder, attended a White House healthcare event where Trump mentioned Anthropic by name. The company has also signed on to the Pledge to America’s Youth and participated in this week’s White House AI Education Taskforce event.
Anthropic has said it values the opportunity to work with the administration on shared priorities such as energy security, maintaining an edge over China, and preparing the workforce for an AI-driven economy, emphasizing that its focus is on outcomes rather than politics.
Executives at rival firms added to the AI vendor list have also had complicated relationships with Trump. OpenAI cofounder Sam Altman once compared Trump to Adolf Hitler in 1930s Germany and donated heavily to Democrats, including $200,000 to Biden’s 2024 campaign.
But after Trump announced his “Stargate” AI venture, Altman softened. He wrote on X that “watching [Trump] more carefully recently has really changed my perspective” and predicted he could be “incredible for the country in many ways.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has also clashed with Trump, rejecting claims of anti-conservative bias in Google search results and criticizing the 2017 immigration ban, which he called “painful” for affected employees.
But the former Trump administration official argued that Anthropic takes it further.
“As far as I can tell, they have the only CEO who was so brazen to call the president names such as a feudal warlord,” the person said, noting that Anthropic and its backers have funneled more than $175 million into Democratic campaigns. They added that the company’s alignment with the Effective Altruism movement, which emphasizes caution and safety in AI development, is at odds with Trump’s vision of rapidly expanding U.S. dominance in the field.
The General Services Administration approved Anthropic, along with OpenAI and Google, in early August as part of a new AI initiative tied to Trump’s July 23 technology blueprint. That plan lays out nearly 90 recommendations to maintain U.S. dominance over China, expand AI exports to allies, and limit state-level restrictions.
The GSA said the approvals mean federal agencies can access these AI platforms under pre-negotiated contracts, with applications ranging from basic research assistants to mission-specific tools. It added that it is prioritizing models “that prioritize truthfulness, accuracy, transparency, and freedom from ideological bias.”
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Trump has described AI as “the fight that will define the 21st century,” framing it as essential to U.S. security and competitiveness. The White House referred the Washington Examiner to the GSA when asked about Anthropic’s political connections.
“GSA is committed to working with top-tier companies to help execute the President’s AI Action Plan. Our focus remains on delivering outstanding results for American taxpayers,” a GSA spokesperson said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
