Anthropic Sues Pentagon and Federal Agencies Over AI Blacklisting

TLDR

• Anthropic filed two lawsuits against the Pentagon and other federal agencies on March 9, 2026
• The Pentagon labeled Anthropic a “supply-chain risk” to national security after the company refused to remove AI safety guardrails
• President Trump ordered the entire federal government to stop using Claude, Anthropic’s AI product
• Anthropic says the government’s actions are unlawful and violate its First Amendment and due process rights
• OpenAI announced a new Pentagon deal shortly after Anthropic was blacklisted

Anthropic sued the U.S. Defense Department and several other federal agencies on Monday after the Pentagon placed the AI company on a national security blacklist.

The company filed two separate lawsuits — one in the Northern District of California and one in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Both challenge the government’s decision to label Anthropic a “supply-chain risk.”

The dispute started over how the military could use Anthropic’s AI system, Claude. The Pentagon wanted to use Claude for “any lawful use.” Anthropic refused to remove guardrails that blocked use of its AI for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth officially designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk on February 27. The company was formally notified on March 3.

President Trump also posted on social media ordering the entire federal government to stop using Claude, going beyond the Pentagon’s original designation.

Hundreds of Millions at Stake

The company says the designation is already “jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars” in business. The Defense Department had signed contracts worth up to $200 million each with major AI labs over the past year, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives warned the blacklisting could cause enterprise clients to pause Claude deployments while the case works through courts.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said he is not opposed to AI-driven weapons in principle, but believes current AI technology is not accurate enough for fully autonomous use. He also said the Pentagon designation has a “narrow scope” and does not affect non-Pentagon business.

An internal memo from Amodei, published by The Information, said Pentagon officials were partly motivated by the fact that Anthropic had not given “dictator-style praise to Trump.” Amodei later apologized for the memo.

What Happens Next

Anthropic said the lawsuits do not rule out further negotiations with the government. A Pentagon spokesperson said it would not comment on pending litigation, and last week a Pentagon official confirmed the two sides were no longer in active talks.

The second lawsuit targets a broader supply-chain law that could extend the blacklist beyond the Pentagon to cover the entire civilian government. The scope of that designation depends on an interagency review that has not yet concluded.

OpenAI announced a deal to provide its technology to the Pentagon’s network shortly after Anthropic was blacklisted. CEO Sam Altman said the Pentagon aligned with OpenAI’s principles on human oversight of weapons and opposition to mass U.S. surveillance.

Anthropic’s investors are reportedly working to limit the damage from the fallout with federal agencies.

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