A former Uber Technologies Inc. executive now overseeing a Pentagon effort to accelerate AI adoption, Michael had held weeks of tense negotiations with Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei over terms for using the firm’s AI tools. Talks broke down roughly two weeks ago, after the company demanded assurances that its AI wouldn’t be used for mass surveillance of Americans or autonomous weapons deployment.

That prompted the Pentagon to declare San Francisco-based Anthropic a supply-chain risk, a move normally reserved for companies from adversarial nations. Until recently, Anthropic had provided the only AI system that could operate in the Pentagon’s classified cloud, and its Claude Gov tool has become a favored option among defense personnel for its ease of use.

A White House official said "any policy announcement will come directly from" the president and that "discussion about potential executive orders is speculation."