Bipartisan members of Congress erupted Friday over the Pentagon's escalating confrontation with Anthropic, with lawmakers from both parties demanding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth withdraw his ultimatum and insisting Congress must play a role in establishing rules governing military AI use. Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the public showdown "sophomoric" while Democrats accused the Pentagon of "chilling abuse of government power."
"Why in the hell are we having this discussion in public?" Tillis, a member of the Armed Services Committee, told Axios. "Why isn't this occurring in a boardroom or in the secretary's office? I mean, this is sophomoric."
The North Carolina Republican's frustration reflected growing Congressional alarm that the Pentagon was attempting to unilaterally resolve fundamental questions about AI surveillance and autonomous weapons without legislative input—questions lawmakers insisted required Congressional debate and statutory clarity.
"Extraordinary Abuse of Government Power"
Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led the Democratic response with a Friday afternoon letter to Hegseth calling the Pentagon's threats "an extraordinary and deeply alarming abuse of government power." The letter came hours before Hegseth's 5:01 PM deadline for Anthropic to remove contractual safeguards against mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.
"DOD is deploying its strongest statutory tools to compel a private contractor to agree to its preferred contractual terms, using false and incoherent arguments about national security to justify its action—all because the contractor, Anthropic, has requested two reasonable safeguards in its contract with DOD," the senators wrote. "This is retaliation, and it is unacceptable."
The letter characterized Hegseth's threats as "an attempt to bully an American company to surrender critical safety and security safeguards—the very protections the federal government should itself be mandating—and instead provide the Department unlimited power over a powerful AI model."
Markey and Van Hollen emphasized particular alarm about the Pentagon's resistance to mass surveillance restrictions given what they described as the Trump administration's weaponization of federal surveillance tools to "chill speech and suppress dissent."
Bipartisan Concern Over Process
Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) was blunt: "DOD is trying to strong-arm Anthropic into providing every tool they have to surveil US citizens. I have serious concerns about that. That's unconstitutional. That's not the role of the Department of Defense."
"The deadline is incredibly tight," Senator Gary Peters told Axios. "That should not be the case if you're dealing with mass surveillance of civilians."
Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) argued for Congressional involvement: "If we need more time, we need more time. These are fundamental issues of our time."
Tillis made clear his concern transcended partisan politics: "It's fair to say that Congress needs to weigh in if they have a tool that could actually result in mass surveillance."
Representative George Whitesides (D-Calif.) warned Hegseth in a Friday morning letter that "threats to compel changes to safety policies on an accelerated timeline could push the Department toward broader deployment without sufficient guardrails."
Intelligence Committee Weighs In
Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, issued a statement Friday raising "serious concerns about whether national security decisions are being driven by careful analysis or political considerations" following Trump's directive to halt Anthropic use across government.
Warner's intervention carried particular weight given the Intelligence Committee's oversight role in classified programs. His questioning whether "political considerations" rather than "careful analysis" drove the decision represented a sharp rebuke from a typically cautious voice on security matters.
Two Core Congressional Demands
Lawmakers coalesced around two clear demands: First, the Pentagon must stay the Friday ultimatum. Second, Congress should work with the administration and AI industry to develop clear statutory rules governing military AI use.
The Congressional response highlights how the Anthropic standoff exposed a governance vacuum. Fundamental questions about AI-enabled mass surveillance, autonomous weapons systems, and the limits of executive authority over emerging technologies remained unresolved by statute—forcing private companies and the Pentagon to negotiate constitutional boundaries that lawmakers insisted required legislative action.
Hegseth ignored the Congressional appeals. By Friday evening, Trump blacklisted Anthropic and Hegseth designated the company a supply chain risk, exactly as threatened.
