Silicon Valley Democrat to target retaliation against tech vendors amid Anthropic fallout

Democrat Rep. Sam Liccardo (Calif.) is ramping up efforts in Congress to push back on Trump administration’s decision to cut the use of Anthropic’s technology in federal agencies after the company’s negotiations with the Pentagon over safety requirements fell apart last week.

Liccardo, who represents part of Silicon Valley, announced Monday that he will introduce an amendment to the Defense Production Act this week to prohibit federal agencies from“retaliating” against high-risk technology vendors and developers that try to limit the deployment of their technology “in ways to mitigate the risk to United States citizens.”

The lawmaker said he will introduce the amendment during Wednesday’s bill markup on the House Committee on Financial Services.

“AI governance will have massive impacts on Americans, and on our future. For those experts who understand the enormity of what lies at stake, mere assertions from the Pentagon that will ‘follow the law’ offer little assurance where Congress has not meaningfully legislated in this space,” the lawmaker, who chairs the New Democrat Coalition’s Technology & Innovation Workforce Task Force, said in a statement.

It comes just days after President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology after the AI company failed to reach an agreement with the Pentagon over AI safeguards.

The Defense Department (DOD) wanted language to permit the use of Anthropic’s technology for “all lawful purposes, while Anthropic pushed for limitations on mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.

Following the expiration deadline last Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced the Pentagon would label Anthropic as a supply chain risk in an unprecedented move for the AI industry in government.

Without naming Anthropic directly, Liccardo argued such “supply chain risk monitors” and product mandates should not be used by agencies against “responsible companies” seeking guardrails.

“Instead, Congress and federal agencies should learn from leading industry thinkers to better manage AI deployment,” Liccardo said.

The move by the Trump administration quickly spurred debate online over how much control private technology companies have over the federal government’s use of its products.

Ahead of negotiations falling apart Friday, Senate defense leaders from both sides of the aisle reportedly urged the DOD and technology company to resolve the dispute.

Anthropic, which provided its AI models to U.S. defense and civilian agencies since late 2024, called the Pentagon supply chain risk designation “legally unsound” and risks setting a “dangerous precedent.” The company said it plans to challenge the designation in court.

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