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Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company banned by Defense Secretary Hegseth, has hired Ballard Partners for DC representation.
Ballard, which has close ties with the Trump administration, is focused on Defense Department procurement matters.
Hegseth banned DoD from using Anthropic’s technology after he declared it a supply chain risk to national security. The president then ordered every federal agency to drop the San Francisco-based firm.
The Washington Post ran an editorial on April 12 headlined “The U.S. military is missing out because of Hegseth’s war on Anthropic.” It said Anthropic’s new Mythos model can detect critical software flaws, but the Pentagon is barring itself from using it.
The editorial noted that China is using AI to break into American systems, and that Anthropic has the best tool available to find vulnerabilities before Beijing’s hackers can.
“But the U.S. military is systematically removing Anthropic software from its systems, with a six-month transition period,” noted WaPo. “It’s one thing to fight with one arm tied behind your back. It’s another to have tied it yourself.”
Brian Ballard heads his firm’s Anthropic team, which includes Micah Ketchel, who served in second Trump White House as a special advisor to the National Security Council.
Ballard Partners has added defense technology company Sempre to help it land federal contracts for digital infrastructure projects.
Flock Safety has hired Off Hill Strategies, a boutique lobby firm that boasts of its commitment to conservative principles.
Ballard Partners has signed South Korea’s SK Americas unit for representation on US semiconductor policies and developments.
Ballard Partners has signed to a represent the US unit of Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest defense contractor, on Army procurement issues.
BGR Group signs on to provide lobbying and PR services for Terzo, an AI financial intelligence platform. Douglas Lute, chair of BGR’s international and defense practices, will join Terzo’s board of directors.
