Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over AI Blacklisting, Calling Federal Retaliation Unconstitutional

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against the Defense Department and other government agencies, challenging the Trump administration's decision to designate the firm a national security supply chain risk and bar its technology from use across all federal agencies. The 48-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that the administration's actions amount to unlawful retaliation against the company for exercising constitutionally protected speech. Anthropic described the measures as unprecedented and warned that absent judicial intervention, the consequences would cause irreparable harm to its business, reputation, and broader public discourse on artificial intelligence. The conflict traces back to a disagreement over the terms under which the military could deploy Claude, Anthropic's flagship AI model and the only one cleared for use on classified government networks. Anthropic sought formal assurances that Claude would not be used for mass surveillance of American citizens or to operate lethal autonomous weapons systems. The Pentagon countered that the model must remain available for all lawful use, and the two parties were unable to reach agreement before a late-February deadline. Following the breakdown in negotiations, the president directed all federal agencies to immediately halt use of Anthropic's products. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently announced the supply chain risk designation and initiated a six-month phase-out of Claude from defense contracts. Reports emerged that the Pentagon continued using the technology during ongoing military operations even after the designation was formalized. Alongside its district court filing, Anthropic submitted a separate lawsuit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking review of the supply chain determination and filed an emergency motion for a stay of that designation. The White House defended the administration's stance, with a spokeswoman stating the military would not allow any private technology company to dictate its operational terms. The Pentagon declined to comment on the pending litigation.