Judge Blocks Pentagon's Ban on Anthropic — 'Nothing Supports the Orwellian Notion' of Branding an American Company a National Security Threat

Federal Judge Rita Lin blocked the Trump administration's ban on Anthropic, ruling that designating the AI company a 'supply chain risk' was likely illegal First Amendment retaliation. The dispute began when Anthropic refused to remove safety guardrails — specifically prohibitions on mass surveillance and lethal autonomous weapons — from its $200 million Pentagon contract. Within 24 hours of Anthropic's refusal, President Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using Claude, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a supply chain risk — a classification never before applied to an American company. Judge Lin's 43-page ruling found the designation was 'pretextual' and constituted 'classic illegal First Amendment retaliation.' But on April 8, the D.C. Circuit denied Anthropic's stay of the Title 41 designation, creating conflicting rulings. The 9th Circuit briefing deadline is April 30; D.C. Circuit oral arguments are May 19.