OpenAI and Anthropic are hiring former Trump administration officials for senior positions to strengthen ties with the U.S. government

CNBC reports that OpenAI and Anthropic are hiring former officials from the Trump administration for senior positions to enhance their connections with the U.S. government. As cutting-edge models are increasingly viewed as national security issues, both companies are ramping up their political affairs strategies, focusing on policies related to regulation, federal procurement, supply chain risk assessment, and export controls.

Anthropic has brought in at least two individuals this year. Chris Liddell served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the White House during Trump's first term and joined the board in February. Sihao Huang, a former senior policy advisor on AI and emerging technologies at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, joined in September to oversee cutting-edge computing strategy. The company is also advancing various data center transactions to secure infrastructure for training and inference.

OpenAI has similarly recruited several former government officials. Dean Ball served as a senior policy advisor in the Office of Technology Policy in 2025 and was involved in drafting the U.S. AI Action Plan; he became the head of strategic futures in July, reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. Thomas Lind, who previously handled AI policy at the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, joined the national security policy team, covering cyber and strategic risks. Peter Bowman-Davis was the Chief AI Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Anthropic has previously had public conflicts with the Department of Defense. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced it as a supply chain risk, a designation typically applied to foreign companies perceived to have ties to adversarial governments, affecting DOD personnel and contractors. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld one of these designations on September 25 by a vote of 2-1, with the majority opinion written by Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, while Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson dissented. A federal court in San Francisco had previously dismissed one of the parallel designations, but the Washington ruling means the Pentagon's restrictions can continue.

Following the conflict, CEO Dario Amodei moved to direct engagement. CNBC reports that he attended a lunch with Trump and AI company leaders and dined with Trump in September. A company spokesperson stated after the appellate ruling that they are evaluating all options, including continuing the appeal.

This is not about model orders but rather the exchange of policy personnel. The buyers are the two labs, and the sellers are former officials leaving the government, with the transaction involving internal experience in procurement, export controls, and supply chain assessments. The driving force behind this is Anthropic's maintained supply chain risk designation and the filtering of federal contracts for model usage. The beneficiaries are the labs that can still access government lunches and recruitment channels; the pressured party is Anthropic's defense business, blocked by contractor bans, as the designation remains in place and personnel replacements cannot automatically restore contracts.

Both companies are currently hiring for multiple political affairs positions. OpenAI has limited Dean Ball's responsibilities to strategy and policy simulation, while Anthropic has placed Sihao Huang in computing strategy, leaving the board seat for Liddell.

Source: Public information