Appeals court rebuffs Anthropic in latest round of its AI battle with
the Trump administration
[April 09, 2026] WASHINGTON
(AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to block the
Pentagon from blacklisting artificial intelligence laboratory Anthropic
in a decision that differed from the conclusions reached in another
judge's ruling on the same issues.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., rejected Anthropic's
request for an order that would shield the San Francisco company from
the fallout stemming from a dispute over how the Pentagon could deploy
its Claude chatbot in fully autonomous weapons and potential
surveillance of Americans while the panel is still collecting evidence
about the case.
But the setback in Washington came after Anthropic already had prevailed
in separate case focused on the same issues in San Francisco federal
court. In that case, a judge forced President Donald Trump’s
administration to remove a label tainting the company as a national
security risk.
Anthropic filed the two separate lawsuits in San Francisco and the
Washington appeals court last month, asserting the Trump administration
was engaging in an “unlawful campaign of retaliation” because of its
attempt to impose limits on how its AI technology can be deployed. The
Trump administration blasted Anthropic as a liberal-leaning company
trying to dictate U.S. military policy.
In the San Francisco case, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the
Trump administration had overstepped its bounds by labeling Anthropic a
supply chain risk unqualified to work with military contractors and
issuing other directives that could cripple a company locked in a race
for AI supremacy against rivals such as ChatGPT maker Open AI and
Google.
That decision prompted the Trump administration to remove the
stigmatizing labels from Anthropic and take other steps clearing the way
for government employees and contractors to continue using Claude and
other chatbots, according to court filing made in San Francisco earlier
this week.
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Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logo are
displayed on a computer screen in New York on Feb. 26, 2026. (AP
Photo/Patrick Sison, File)
 The appeals court in Washington
didn't see things the same way, even though it conceded the company
would “likely suffer some degree of irreparable harm” if it's deemed
a supply chain risk. But the appeals court didn't see sufficient
reason to issue its own order revoking the Trump administration's
actions, partly because “the precise amount of Anthropic’s financial
harm is not fully clear.”
Further evidence in the case is scheduled to be presented before the
appeals court in a hearing scheduled for May 19.
“We’re grateful the court recognized these issues need to be
resolved quickly and remain confident the courts will ultimately
agree that these supply chain designations were unlawful," Anthropic
said in a statement.
Matt Schruers, the CEO of the technology trade group Computer &
Communications Industry Association, expressed worries that the
conflicting court decisions issued so far in the standoff between
Anthropic and the Trump administration will muddle the business
landscape at a pivotal time.
“The Pentagon’s actions and the DC Circuit’s ruling create
substantial business uncertainty at a time when U.S. companies are
competing with global counterparts to lead in AI," Schruers said.
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