A federal judge has granted Anthropic’s request for a preliminary injunction after the Trump administration gave the Claude creator a supply chain risk designation.
In a new ruling, District Judge Rita F. Lin says the supply chain risk designation is applied to adversaries of the US government who may sabotage its technology systems and has never been assigned to a domestic company.
Lin also says the measure appears to be designed to punish Anthropic for criticizing the government’s contracting position in the press.
“In their announcements, the President and Secretary Hegseth called Anthropic ‘out of control’ and ‘arrogant,’ describing its ‘sanctimonious rhetoric’ as an attempt to ‘strong-arm’ the government. The Department of War’s records show that it designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk because of its ‘hostile manner through the press.’ Punishing Anthropic for bringing public scrutiny to the government’s contracting position is classic illegal First Amendment retaliation.”
In late February, President Trump ordered the government to immediately cease using Claude in federal agencies after Anthropic redlined the use of the AI system for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. The Pentagon wanted Anthropic to loosen its AI guardrails and allow the Department of Defense to use it for any lawful purpose.
But Anthropic stood its ground, prompting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to apply a supply chain risk designation to the AI firm.
In response, Anthropic sued the Trump administration, claiming it was being punished for not acceding to the government’s request. According to the firm, the designation has caused economic harm as current and future contracts with private firms are in doubt, as well as damaging the company’s reputation.
District Judge Lin’s ruling temporarily blocks the supply chain risk designation, giving Anthropic a tangible win that could help recover customers and restore its reputation.
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