OpenAI, Anthropic Add Trump-Era Officials as AI Security Stakes Grow

OpenAI and Anthropic are expanding their policy leadership as advanced artificial intelligence becomes increasingly relevant to national security, federal contracts and cybersecurity.

Anthropic appointed Chris Liddell, who served as deputy White House chief of staff during President Donald Trump’s first term, to its board on Feb. 13. Liddell said governance would become as important as technology as AI systems grow more transformative.

“My career has taught me the governance of transformative technologies matters as much as the technologies themselves,” Liddell said.

OpenAI appointed Dean Ball, a former senior policy adviser at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to lead its Strategic Futures team. OpenAI announced the team Aug. 20 to examine how institutions and society should respond to increasingly capable AI systems.

The personnel changes coincide with expanded government use of AI and Anthropic’s court fight over limits on military applications.

OpenAI’s agreement with the U.S. government gives federal, state, local and tribal governments no-cost access to ChatGPT Enterprise licenses and a 50% discount on usage fees. The agreement runs from Oct. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2028.

OpenAI has also published national-security principles supporting government use of AI for cyber defense and critical infrastructure protection.

Anthropic’s legal dispute centers on its designation as a supply-chain risk by the Defense Department. On Sept. 25, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the department could make the designation under federal law. The case involved Anthropic’s restrictions on certain military uses and did not establish that the company acted with malicious intent.

The court dispute was detailed previously.

The personnel moves highlight the growing importance of policy expertise at the intersection of technology, national security and government contracting. The case illustrates how disagreements over AI policy may influence companies’ access to federal systems and contracting opportunities.

Liddell said he joined Anthropic because of its approach to developing capable and responsible AI.

“Anthropic’s approach—building AI that’s both capable and responsible—is critical for our future, and it’s why I’m proud to be joining the company’s Board,” Liddell said.