The New York Budgets

Tag: Pentagon

  • White House Cuts Ties With Anthropic After Pentagon Flags Security Risk

    White House Cuts Ties With Anthropic After Pentagon Flags Security Risk

    President Donald Trump said Friday that he was ordering every U.S. government agency to “immediately cease” using technology from the artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

    Trump in a Truth Social post said there would be a six-month phase-out for agencies such as the Defense Department, which “are using Anthropic’s products, at various levels.”

    Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, soon after Trump’s order, said on X that he was ordering the Pentagon to “designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security” after the AI startup refused to comply with demands about the use of its technology.

    Anthropic, which signed a $200 million contract with the Pentagon in July, wanted assurances that its AI models would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance of Americans.

    The Pentagon, which strongly resisted that request, set a deadline of 5:01 p.m. ET Friday for Anthropic to agree to its demands that the U.S. military be allowed to use the technology for all lawful purposes.

    That deadline passed without an agreement.

    “Anthropic’s stance is fundamentally incompatible with American principles,” Hegseth said in a statement on X.

    “Their relationship with the United States Armed Forces and the Federal Government has therefore been permanently altered.”

    “Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service,” the Defense secretary said.

    “America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final.”

    Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution.”

    “Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY.”

    “Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology,” Trump wrote.

    “We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!”

    Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who is vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, condemned Trump’s action.

    “The president’s directive to halt the use of a leading American AI company across the federal government, combined with inflammatory rhetoric attacking that company, raises serious concerns about whether national security decisions are being driven by careful analysis or political considerations,” Warner said in a statement.

    “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s efforts to intimidate and disparage a leading American company — potentially as the pretext to steer contracts to a preferred vendor whose model a number of federal agencies have already identified as a reliability, safety, and security threat — pose an enormous risk to U.S. defense readiness and the willingness of the U.S. private sector and academia to work with the IC [Intelligence Community] and DoD, consistent with their own values and legal ethics,” Warner said.

    Elon Musk, the mega-billionaire who had been Trump’s biggest financial backer in the 2024 election, owns xAI, which aims to compete directly with Anthropic and another major AI company, OpenAI.

    Musk in recent weeks has repeatedly bashed Anthropic on his social network X, writing on Friday that the company “hates Western civilization.”

    Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that his company “cannot in good conscience” allow the Pentagon to use its models without limitation.

    In a statement on Thursday, Amodei said, “It is the [Defense] Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider.”

    “Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters — with our two requested safeguards in place,” Amodei said.

    “Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.”

    On Friday, another major AI company, OpenAI, said it has the same “red lines” as Anthropic regarding the use of its technology by the Pentagon and other customers.

    “We have long believed that AI should not be used for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, and that humans should remain in the loop for high-stakes automated decisions,” Open AI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a memo seen by CNBC.

    OpenAI last year signed its own $200 million contract with the Pentagon.

    OpenAI’s contract is for AI models in non-classified use cases, which include everyday office tasks.

    Anthropic’s contract with the Defense Department included classified work.

    The Defense Department had no comment on Friday other than pointing to Trump’s announcement.

    Hegseth, in a post on X, included a screengrab of Trump’s post, and cc:ed Anthropic and Amodei with the message, “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

  • Pentagon Flags Alibaba and BYD Over Alleged Chinese Military Links

    Pentagon Flags Alibaba and BYD Over Alleged Chinese Military Links

    The Pentagon has concluded that Alibaba and BYD should be added to a list of companies with alleged connections to the Chinese military, two months before Donald Trump is expected to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing.

    The defence department posted an updated “Chinese Military Companies” list to the Federal Register on Friday morning. However, in a move that has led to confusion, the PDF was abruptly removed from the site following a request from the Pentagon, which did not provide any explanation. A defence official said the Pentagon would release the new list next week.

    The decision to include Alibaba on what is formally known as the 1260H list comes three months after The Financial Times reported that US intelligence agencies believed the ecommerce giant posed a threat to national security.

    The Pentagon will also add BYD, the world’s biggest electric-car maker, and Baidu, the search engine, to the 1260H list, which is mandated by Congress. While US-China trade tensions have eased since Trump and Xi met in South Korea in October, the addition of the marquee Chinese groups to the list will trigger fresh tension ahead of their summit in April.

    In another point of friction, The Financial Times reported last week that the Trump administration is compiling a package of arms sales for Taiwan which could total $20bn after announcing a record $11.1bn package in November. Craig Singleton, an expert on US-China relations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think-tank, said the addition of the Chinese companies to the list was “mutually assured disruption in practice”.

    “Even as tariff threats have cooled, tech, capital and security frictions keep heating up,” he said. “Releasing the list weeks before a leader-level summit shows deliberate compartmentalisation: stabilising trade talks while sustaining pressure in national security lanes.” Henrietta Levin, a US-China expert at the CSIS think-tank, said Beijing would be upset but the move was unlikely to derail the Trump-Xi summit.

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    “Chinese officials may lament how the administration is not doing enough to foster a ‘positive atmosphere’ ahead of the anticipated summit between Trump and Xi this spring,” Levin said. “But ultimately, Beijing is confident the results of this summit will favour Chinese interests, and they will not want to miss the opportunity to extract concessions from Trump.”

    When the Pentagon makes a “Chinese Military Companies” designation, it signals that the US believes the groups have direct ties to the People’s Liberation Army or are involved in China’s military-civil fusion programme, which requires them to share technology with the Chinese military.

    Inclusion on the Pentagon list does not have legal implications for most of the companies. But it creates reputational risk for them, particularly because it signals that the US may take punitive action in the future.

    However, the Pentagon also put Chinese biotechnology company WuXi AppTec on the list, which will affect its operations in the US. Under the Biosecure Act, which was passed in December, the federal government is restricted from doing business with “biotechnology companies of concern”, which includes any entity on the 1260H list. But the act gives the government a five-year window to complete existing contracts and wind down arrangements with designated companies. The Pentagon does not publicly disclose many details about why a company has been added to the list.

    But the China committee in the House of Representatives last year called for WuXi to be added, saying its management committee included members of the PLA’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and PLA-run hospitals. WuXi AppTec contested its inclusion on the list. “We are not owned, controlled, or affiliated with any Chinese government agency or military institution. None of our board members or senior executive team has Chinese military or political party affiliation either,” the company said.

    The Pentagon also added RoboSense, which makes AI-powered robotic technology, saying the Shenzhen-based group is a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defence industrial base. It also included BOE Technology, a maker of display panels for computers and smartphones. John Moolenaar, the chair of the House China committee, in 2024 urged the Pentagon to add BOE to the list.

    The defence department also removed two memory chipmakers — CXMT and YMTC — in an unexpected move. Michael Sobolik, a US-China expert at the Hudson Institute, said that given China’s commitment to military-civil fusion, it was unclear what would have changed to justify their removal.

    “The reputational windfall for these companies could increase their chances of selling memory chips to American customers,” he said. “The administration is trying to break the nation’s reliance on China for critical minerals. Why would we risk opening up more dependencies?”

    Alibaba is one of the highest-profile changes to the list. The NY Budgets reported in November that US intelligence believed it was providing technical support for Chinese military “operations” against targets in America.

    According to a White House security memo, Alibaba also allegedly provides the Chinese government and PLA with access to customer data. Alibaba strongly rejected the allegations in the memo.

    On Friday, Alibaba said there was “no basis” to conclude that it should be added to the list. “Alibaba is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy. We will take all available legal action against attempts to misrepresent our company.”

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    Baidu said the Pentagon claim was “entirely baseless and no evidence has been produced that would prove otherwise”. It said it would “not hesitate to use all options available” to be removed from the list. BYD said any proposal to put it on the list was “completely unfounded”.

    “BYD is not a Chinese military company, nor has it participated in any military-civil fusion strategy.”

    The White House did not respond to a request for comment about why the Pentagon list was abruptly removed from the Federal Register.

  • Pentagon Testing Radio Wave Device Potentially Linked to Havana Syndrome

    Pentagon Testing Radio Wave Device Potentially Linked to Havana Syndrome

    Ten years ago U.S. officials stationed in Cuba started reporting a strange collection of symptoms, from ringing ears and dizziness to crushing headaches and memory loss. The symptoms, collectively dubbed “Havana syndrome” and more formally known as anomalous health incidents (AHIs), suggested a neurological issue. But what, exactly, the root cause was has remained a matter of intense debate among both medical and military experts.

    Now, according to CNN, the U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly been testing a machine that is believed to produce pulsed radio waves and may be linked to Havana syndrome. The DOD and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    A device that could produce powerful pulsed radio waves is among the many speculated but unproven causes of Havana syndrome, which also include possible exposure to neurotoxins and mass psychogenic illness (collective anxiety).

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    Medical experts continue to debate even the specific neurological consequences of Havana syndrome: researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on 81 federal workers and their family members who said that they had heard a noise and felt pressure in their head and then developed headaches and other cognitive symptoms. The results, published in 2024 in JAMA, showed no differences between the brains of these individuals and those of a control group. Other studies have also found inconclusive results.

    “It is possible that individuals with an [anomalous health incident] may be experiencing the results of an event that led to their symptoms, but the injury did not produce the long-term neuroimaging changes that are typically observed after severe trauma or stroke. We hope these results will alleviate concerns about AHI being associated with severe neurodegenerative changes in the brain,” said Carlo Pierpaoli, lead author of the NIH study, in a statement at the time.

  • Laura Loomer Granted Official Press Access to the Pentagon

    Laura Loomer Granted Official Press Access to the Pentagon

    In a move that lays bare the Trump administration’s assault on independent journalism and national security norms, far-right provocateur Laura Loomer—known for her inflammatory rants, conspiracy-mongering, and self-proclaimed “Loomering” of disloyal officials—has been handed official press credentials to cover the Pentagon. The 32-year-old activist, who once handcuffed herself to Twitter’s doors in protest of her ban and has repeatedly branded immigrants as “invaders,” now joins a motley crew of right-wing echo-chamber outlets in the Defense Department‘s newly revamped press corps—a direct result of a draconian policy that drove mainstream media out en masse last month.

    This credentialing isn’t just a badge; it’s a license for chaos. Loomer, a failed congressional candidate in Florida and Trump’s unofficial whisperer-in-chief, has already used her Oval Office access to fuel a purge of perceived “disloyal” defense leaders, from NSA Director Gen. Timothy Haugh to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s appointees. Her presence in the Pentagon briefing room signals the deepening fusion of White House vendettas and military oversight, raising alarms among Democrats, press freedom advocates, and even some within the administration who view her as a loose cannon threatening U.S. readiness. “This isn’t journalism—it’s infiltration,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a former Intelligence Committee chair. “Loomer’s track record of harassment and disinformation makes her a national security risk in a secure facility.”

    A Policy Born of Paranoia: Mainstream Media Ejected, MAGA Media Installed

    The backdrop is as Orwellian as it gets. In October, the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—Trump’s Fox News alum pick—unveiled a policy barring reporters from seeking information outside official channels, effectively muzzling independent inquiry. Outraged, dozens of outlets—including The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, and even Fox News—staged a walkout, refusing to sign what they decried as a “threat to press freedom.” Only One America News (OAN), the pro-Trump cable network notorious for election lies, inked the deal initially.

    Enter the new corps: A roster dominated by far-right darlings like The Gateway Pundit (debunked for Sandy Hook hoaxes), The Post Millennial (a Daily Wire offshoot peddling anti-LGBTQ+ screeds), LindellTV (MyPillow mogul Mike Lindell’s election-denial streaming service), and now Loomer herself. These aren’t seasoned Pentagon beat reporters; they’re online influencers with audiences built on outrage, not oversight. The policy, critics argue, is a deliberate purge to install a compliant cadre that amplifies Trump’s narrative while silencing scrutiny of military missteps—from unchecked defense spending to Hegseth’s Qatar deals.

    Loomer announced her credentialing triumph on X (formerly Twitter), where she boasts 1.2 million followers, framing it as vindication against “Big Media elites.” But her glee masks a darker reality: She’s signing onto a gag order that prohibits basic journalism, all while flaunting her role in ousting officials she deems insufficiently MAGA. In an August X post viewed over 2 million times, Loomer railed against Hegseth’s plan to host Qatari air force training at an Idaho base, calling it a gift to “terror financing Muslims” and vowing to sit out midterms in protest. Such outbursts have Pentagon staffers scrambling, sources say, fearing her next viral broadside could trigger another firing spree.

    Loomer’s influence isn’t hype—it’s havoc. Since Trump’s inauguration, her Oval Office sit-downs have correlated with a revolving door of dismissals, which she gleefully brands “Loomered.” In April, she targeted NSA Director Gen. Timothy Haugh and deputy Wendy Noble as “disloyal,” tweeting: “That is why they have been fired.” Haugh was ousted days later, replaced by a Trump loyalist. She claimed credit for national security adviser Michael Waltz’s April firing and staff purge, tying it to her “report” on their inadequacies—Waltz later landed as U.N. ambassador, a cushy consolation.

    Her Pentagon hit list is bipartisan in bigotry. In April, Loomer savaged Col. Earl G. Matthews—nominated for general counsel—for allegedly “subverting” Hegseth, echoing her anti-“deep state” crusade. More egregiously, in August, she attacked Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for honoring Medal of Honor recipient Florent Groberg—a French-born immigrant who lost a leg shielding soldiers from a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Why? Groberg’s 60-second DNC speech on “service and sacrifice.” Loomer dubbed him an “anti-Trump leftist.” Groberg, undeterred, responded: “I’ve served under presidents from both parties and will always honor my oath to this country.” Driscoll swiftly revoked Jen Easterly’s West Point faculty appointment after Loomer’s pile-on—Easterly, Biden’s CISA director, was targeted for her cybersecurity work exposing foreign election meddling.

    These aren’t isolated; they’re a pattern. Loomer, who styles herself an “investigative journalist, activist, and truth-teller” via her Loomered website and opposition research firm, has a history of stunts: Banned from Uber/Lyft for anti-Muslim tirades, booted from CPAC for disrupting speeches, and deplatformed across social media for hate speech. Yet Trump calls her “a very nice person… a patriot,” crediting her “excitement” for the country. Her rare Trump critiques—like his Qatari jet “gift from jihadists”—end in apologies, underscoring her as a one-woman loyalty litmus test.

    Broader Peril: Press Freedom Under Siege, National Security in Jeopardy

    Loomer’s Pentagon perch exacerbates a chilling trend: The Trump White House’s war on the fourth estate. Her stalled White House credentials—despite smaller right-wing influencers gaining access—highlight selective favoritism. The new policy, which Loomer eagerly embraces, ensures coverage that’s less watchdog, more water carrier—ideal for burying scandals like Hegseth’s Qatar ties or the administration’s military purges.

    Democrats and watchdogs are mobilizing. The ACLU warned of “Orwellian control,” while Rep. Schiff demanded hearings: “Loomer in the briefing room is a fox guarding the henhouse.” As one anonymous Pentagon official told The Hill, her access “frustrates” staff, who dread her next “Loomering” tweet sparking chaos.

    In an era of rising authoritarianism, Loomer’s elevation isn’t quirky—it’s a symptom. Trump’s “truth-teller” is peddling division in the halls of power, where decisions affect global stability. If unchecked, this could erode the Pentagon’s integrity from within, turning defense briefings into MAGA rallies. America deserves better: A free press, not a far-right filter.