Emil Michael, the Silicon Valley exec turned Trump official leading the war against Anthropic, has deep ties to the tech world

For more than two decades, Emil Michael has operated at the fault line between Silicon Valley ambition and American geopolitical power, helping scale one of tech’s most disruptive companies before returning to government to shape how artificial intelligence will be used in war. The self-proclaimed “one of the best deal guys” has now become the Pentagon’s most aggressive public combatant in its escalating standoff with Anthropic. 

On Friday February 27 the conflict seemed to escalate to a boiling point with Trump posting to Truth Social, “I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” The post went on to describe a 6 months phase out period, and unspecified threats to Anthropic should it not cooperate.

Thus far Michael has embraced President Donald Trump’s edicts, including the demand that the renamed Department of War become an “AI‑first” organization, publicly arguing that whoever moves fastest on AI will dominate future conflicts. “Speed defines victory in the AI era, and the War Department will match the velocity of America’s AI industry,” he said in remarks outlining a new tech strategy that centers AI alongside hypersonics and directed‑energy weapons. “We’re pulling in the best talent, the most cutting‑edge technology, and embedding the top frontier AI models into the workforce—all at a rapid wartime pace.” A Department of War spokesperson underscored to Fortune that Michaels is “leading the mandate to secure U.S. military technological dominance. Emil’s team is moving at unprecedented speed to deliver new advanced capabilities to the warfighter, as reflected in his engagement with hundreds of industry partners during his first nine months as Under Secretary.” 

Anthropic was supposed to be the crown jewel of the Pentagon’s AI push. Its Claude model is one of the few large language systems cleared for certain classified environments and is already deeply embedded in defense workflows through contractors like Palantir. Pulling it out could take months, according to a report by Defense One, making the startup not just a vendor but a critical node in the military’s emerging AI infrastructure.

But Anthropic also imposed limits that Michael views as fundamentally incompatible with warfighting. The........

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