Anthropic has fulfilled its commitment to take legal action against the Department of Defense, following the agency’s recent designation of the company as a supply chain risk.
On Monday, the developer of Claude initiated two lawsuits against the Department in California and Washington D.C., concluding a multi-week dispute between Anthropic and the DOD regarding the military’s unfettered access to Anthropic’s AI technologies. Anthropic had drawn clear boundaries, stating its opposition to its technology being deployed for widespread surveillance of U.S. citizens and its conviction that it was not prepared to enable completely autonomous weaponry without human oversight in targeting and deployment.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth contended that the Pentagon ought to have access to AI systems for “any lawful purpose” and should not be constrained by a private contractor.
Typically, a supply chain risk designation is applied to foreign adversaries, compelling any entity or agency collaborating with the Pentagon to confirm they are not utilizing Anthropic’s models. Although some private companies continue their partnership with Anthropic, the company stands to forfeit a significant portion of its governmental contracts.
In a complaint lodged in San Francisco federal court, Anthropic denounced the DOD’s actions as “unprecedented and unlawful,” accusing the administration of retaliation. The lawsuit asserts, “The Constitution prohibits the government from employing its immense power to penalize a company for its protected expression.”
According to the lawsuit, the protected speech Anthropic references pertains to its convictions regarding the “limitations of its own AI services and crucial matters of AI safety.” The administration, including Defense Secretary Hegseth and President Trump, has labeled Anthropic and its CEO, Dario Amodei, as “woke” and “radical” due to the company’s advocacy for enhanced AI safety and transparency protocols.
Anthropic contended in the lawsuit that while the government is not obligated to concur with its viewpoints or utilize its offerings, it is prohibited from using state power to penalize or stifle Anthropic’s freedom of expression.
Furthermore, Anthropic asserted that “no federal statute authorizes the actions taken here,” alleging that the Defense Department’s supply chain risk designation was implemented “without observance of the procedures Congress required.” Typically, the law mandates that agencies perform a risk assessment, inform the affected company and grant it an opportunity to reply, formulate a written national-security determination, and inform Congress prior to removing a vendor from federal supply chains.
The company further alleges that the president acted beyond the scope of congressional authority when he instructed all federal agencies to cease using Anthropic’s technology without delay, subsequent to Amodei’s declaration that he would not compromise on his strict principles. Consequent to the pronouncements by both President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the General Services Administration—the federal body overseeing government contracts and procurement—revoked Anthropic’s “OneGov” contract, thereby discontinuing the provision of Anthropic services to all three sectors of the federal government.
“The defendants are attempting to annihilate the economic value generated by one of the globe’s rapidly expanding private enterprises,” the lawsuit states. “The contested actions inflict immediate and irreversible damage upon Anthropic; upon others whose free speech will be stifled; upon those who gain from the economic value the company can persist in creating; and upon a global populace deserving of vigorous discourse and deliberation regarding AI’s implications for warfare and surveillance.”
Within its complaint, Anthropic requested the court to promptly suspend the Defense Department’s designation throughout the ongoing case and ultimately nullify it, permanently preventing the government from its enforcement.
An Anthropic spokesperson stated, “Pursuing judicial review does not alter our enduring dedication to utilizing AI for national security, but this action is crucial to safeguard our enterprise, our clients, and our collaborators. We remain committed to exploring all avenues for resolution, including engagement with the government.”
Anthropic also lodged a distinct complaint with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, as federal procurement law permits companies to challenge supply chain risk designations. This petition seeks the court’s review and reversal of the Defense Department’s determination to label the company a national security supply chain risk. In this complaint, Anthropic asserted that the action was illegal, vindictive, and executed incorrectly under federal procurement law.
This report has been updated to include additional details and the information that Anthropic has initiated a separate legal action in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Its initial publication date was March 9, 2026, at 8:39am PT.