Trump-Appointed Judges Uphold Pentagon Blacklisting of Anthropic AI Company

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. refused to block the Trump administration's blacklisting of Anthropic.

“A federal appeals court refused to halt the Trump administration’s efforts to blacklist Anthropic yesterday, denying the company’s emergency motion for a stay”

Ars Technica

The ruling was issued by a panel of three judges appointed by Republicans, including Trump appointees Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao.

Ars Technica

The court acknowledged that Anthropic will likely suffer some degree of irreparable harm absent a stay, but said the harm appears to be primarily financial in nature.

The ruling contrasts with a separate decision by a California federal judge, who blocked one of the orders on March 26.

The D.C. case concerns a law that could lead to the blacklist widening to the broader civilian government.

Anthropic has challenged the Pentagon's designation in two separate lawsuits.

The company alleges the government retaliated against its stance on AI safety and violated its First and Fifth Amendment rights.

Benzinga

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth classified Anthropic as a supply-chain risk after the company refused to loosen safeguards on its Claude chatbot.

The Justice Department says that Anthropic’s refusal to lift the restrictions could cause uncertainty in the Pentagon.

The D.C. Circuit ruling said Anthropic does not show that its speech has been chilled during the pendency of this litigation.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei declared the company cannot in good conscience accede to the Pentagon’s demands.

The company was the first to deploy its models across the DOD's classified networks.

The Trump administration's actions surprised many officials in Washington.

The DOD relied on two distinct designations to justify the supply chain risk action.

Todd Blanche called the decision a resounding victory for military readiness.