CONFIRMED

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on September 2, 2026, during the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that the Trump administration now trusts Anthropic and that the company is back on the right side after months of friction. The statement, made alongside Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown, was reported by Axios, CNBC, Forbes and CBS17.

Where the friction came from

The relationship between Anthropic and the Trump administration had been tense for months, amid disagreements over the company's public stance on AI safety and regulation. Part of that strain included a Pentagon retaliation against Anthropic, which a US federal judge later ruled illegal. Against that backdrop, Tom Brown took on the role of bridge builder: according to Axios, he held several direct conversations with Lutnick and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross to rebuild the relationship.

What Lutnick and Brown said on stage

On the G20 panel, Lutnick publicly stated that Anthropic is back on the right side with the Trump administration. Tom Brown, in turn, said he really loved a post by President Donald Trump about data centers, in which Trump highlighted that this kind of infrastructure creates jobs and reduces taxes. The public exchange of praise marks an explicit turnaround after months in which the relationship between the company and the government was, at best, distrustful.

An event stacked with AI heavyweights

The G20 Innovation Ministerial, held September 1 and 2, 2026 at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, brought together much of the US AI industry's leadership. OpenAI's Sam Altman took part in a fireside chat with Lutnick to preview the company's coming advances and highlight partnerships with Governor Josh Stein on hurricane recovery and cyber defense. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was also present, while Elon Musk participated virtually. The event was organized by the US Department of Commerce together with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Why it matters for Brazilian agencies and SMBs

The thaw between Anthropic and the US government tends to reduce regulatory uncertainty around one of the leading model providers used by Brazilian agencies and SMBs building products with Claude. Less political friction in Washington usually means less risk of abrupt decisions, such as access restrictions or sudden policy shifts, that could affect customers outside the United States. It is worth watching whether this rapprochement also unlocks larger public contracts for Anthropic in the US, a move that tends to inject cash and speed up the company's release pace.

Sources

Axios, Lutnick: Anthropic is back on the right side with Trump administration: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/02/lutnick-anthropic-trump | Forbes, Anthropic Has Repaired Its Relationship With Trump, Lutnick Says: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/09/02/anthropic-back-on-trumps-right-side-lutnick-says/ | Axios, Lutnick's G20 summit flex: Parade of tech moguls in N.C. today: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/02/lutnicks-g20-summit-flex-parade-of-tech-moguls-in-nc-today