Odaily Planet Daily reports: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Anthropic’s emergency motion to suspend the U.S. Department of Defense’s designation of it as a national security supply chain risk. A three-judge panel ruled on Wednesday that the government’s interest in controlling AI technology procurement during active military conflict takes precedence over any potential financial or reputational harm to Anthropic.
The dispute originated from a contract signed in July 2025 between Anthropic and the Pentagon to deploy Anthropic’s AI model, Claude, on classified networks. Negotiations broke down in February of this year, as the government demanded unrestricted access to Claude for military use, while Anthropic insisted its technology not be used in lethal autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance of U.S. citizens. In late February, President Trump ordered all federal agencies to cease using Anthropic’s products, prompting Anthropic to sue the Trump administration in March.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California previously issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting Trump’s directive. However, due to provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Anthropic was required to file separate lawsuits in both the Northern District of California and the D.C. Circuit Court. The appellate court now ruled that Anthropic may suffer irreparable harm without a stay and stated that the case should be expedited. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche called the ruling "a major victory for military readiness."