Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth questioning the Pentagon's decision to designate artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a "supply-chain risk," according to reports from multiple news outlets.

In her letter, Warren characterized the Defense Department's action as "retaliation" against the AI laboratory. The Massachusetts Democrat argued that if the Pentagon had concerns about working with Anthropic, it could have simply terminated its existing contract with the company rather than placing it on what she described as a blacklist.

The controversy appears to center on the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as presenting supply-chain risks, though the specific reasons for this classification were not detailed in available reports. Warren's intervention suggests broader tensions between some lawmakers and defense officials over how the military engages with AI companies.

The dispute comes as the Defense Department increasingly relies on artificial intelligence capabilities for military applications. Other defense contractors have touted AI's potential for battlefield planning and military operations, with some executives describing the technology as transformative for military decision-making while emphasizing that human judgment remains central to combat decisions.

Warren's letter represents the latest development in ongoing debates about the military's partnerships with private AI companies and the criteria used to evaluate potential security risks in these relationships.