I just saw some quite interesting news about Anthropic's strategic moves in Washington. It seems that this company has decided to hire Ballard Partners, one of the most influential lobbying firms in the capital, with close ties to the Trump administration.

What’s interesting is that this move comes at a very sensitive time. The disclosed lobbying documents show that the effective date is March 9, just four days after the U.S. military officially announced supply chain risks. Ballard Partners explicitly states that this lobbying activity relates to "Department of Defense procurement," indicating that Anthropic is trying to protect its interests in discussions with the U.S. government.

According to Bloomberg reports, during previous negotiations, there was a core disagreement between the two parties. The military wanted Anthropic to provide their tools without restrictions for legitimate purposes, while Anthropic insisted that guarantees be in place to ensure their technology would not be used for full autonomous weapon deployment or large-scale surveillance of Americans. This involves compliance with safety regulations and various legal requirements, which is part of the consideration of what AML is in the context of using AI technology in government sectors.

This is not the first time Anthropic has hired a lobbying firm. It is the sixth external lobbying firm they have engaged since November of last year, having previously hired Avenue Solutions and Navigators Global. Additionally, last month, Anthropic established its own research institute, appointed Sarah Heck as head of public policy, and registered a federal political committee, indicating they are formalizing their political engagement management.

From the lobbying expenditure data, what caught my attention is the massive increase in Anthropic’s spending in 2025, which rose over 330% to $3.1 million. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s spending increased by about 70% to around $3 million. This shows that Anthropic is heavily betting on this lobbying strategy.

Overall lobbying expenses related to AI in the fourth quarter of 2025 hit a new record of $37.2 million in a single quarter, up 38% compared to the previous year. This indicates that AI companies are systematically entering into politics and policy, which is an interesting sign of the industry’s direction in the coming years.