Anthropic and OpenAI, two prominent AI companies, have been hiring former officials from the Trump administration to build relationships with Washington. This move reflects the growing status of frontier AI as a national security matter.
What happened
Over the past year, Anthropic has brought on at least two former Trump officials, including Chris Liddell, who joined the company's board of directors, and Sihao Huang, who became the head of frontier compute strategy. OpenAI has also made similar hires, including Thomas Lind, who joined to lead cyber and strategic risk on its national security policy team, and Dean Ball, who was hired as head of strategic futures.
These hires demonstrate the importance of building relationships with the government, as the administration holds significant power over the industry through federal procurement, supply-chain designations, and export controls. The companies are also currently hiring for multiple additional political engagement roles.
Experts believe that the hiring trend is motivated by the prospect of blockbuster public offerings and the desire to shape the future of AI governance. The AI labs have become power centers in their own right, and officials who are serious about shaping the future of AI governance see working inside the labs as a way to gain leverage.
The relationship between Anthropic and the White House has not always been smooth, with a public dispute earlier in the year and a U.S. appeals court upholding a Pentagon designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk. However, the companies seem to be taking steps to improve their relationships with the government.
