A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Pentagon’s attempt to ban the artificial intelligence company Anthropic from doing business with the U.S. military.
In the ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic’s request for a preliminary injunction, barring federal agencies from carrying out Trump’s directive that deemed the AI company a “supply chain risk” to national security. The order is paused for seven days.
“Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the U.S. for expressing disagreement with the government,” Lin wrote in the 43-page ruling.
Anthropic was blacklisted by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in February after it refused to allow the Pentagon to use its Claude AI model for autonomous lethal warfare and the mass surveillance of Americans, citing safety and responsibility concerns. The supply chain risk designation required the Pentagon and its contractors to discontinue the use of Anthropic’s commercial AI services across all defense-related operations.
Anthropic, which develops advanced AI models used in both commercial and government settings, pushed back against the ban, arguing it was arbitrary and would unfairly limit competition in a rapidly evolving sector. The company also warned that excluding it from federal contracts could slow innovation and reduce the government’s access to cutting-edge technology.
“We’re grateful to the court for moving swiftly, and pleased they agree Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits. While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI,” an Anthropic spokesperson said after Thursday’s ruling.
The Defense Department did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Lin called the Pentagon’s ban on Anthropic “troubling” and accused the Trump administration of violating the AI company’s free speech protections, which she echoed in her ruling.
“Punishing Anthropic for bringing public scrutiny to the government’s contracting position is classic illegal First Amendment retaliation,” Lin said.
Sydney Carruth and Fallon Gallagher contributed to this report.
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