Dario Amodei Meets White House Chief of Staff Wiles as Anthropic Pentagon Blacklist Standoff Continues

CNN·high signal

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 17 in what both sides called 'productive and constructive' talks. The meeting signals a potential thaw after the Pentagon declared Anthropic a 'supply chain risk' — a label previously reserved for foreign adversaries — over the company's refusal to allow Claude for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. Split federal court rulings leave Anthropic excluded from DOD contracts but able to serve other agencies while litigation heads to May arguments.