New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei speak on stage during the 2025 New York Times DealBook Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 3, 2025 in New York.
Michael M. Santiago | getty images
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. Wednesday Enthropic’s request to stay rejected In its lawsuit against the Department of Defense.
The artificial intelligence startup demanded action by the Pentagon to stop its blacklisting and prevent further monetary and reputational damage if the matter comes to light. The ruling comes after a San Francisco federal court judge late last month granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction in a separate case that prevents the Trump administration from enforcing restrictions on cloud use.
The DOD declared Anthropic a supply chain risk in early March, meaning the use of the company’s technology allegedly poses a threat to US national security. The label requires defense contractors to certify that they do not use Anthropic’s cloud artificial intelligence models in their work with the military.
“In our view, the equitable balance here is in favor of the government,” the appeals court said in its decision. “On one side is the relatively inherent risk of financial loss to a private company. On the other side is jurisdictional control over how, and through whom, the War Department secures critical AI technology during an active military conflict.”
Anthropic had Appeal court asked to review The Pentagon’s determination and argument that this is a form of retaliation that is unconstitutional, arbitrary, capricious and not consistent with procedures required by law. a filing.
In the ruling Wednesday, the court acknowledged that Anthropic “is likely to suffer some degree of irreparable harm in the absence of a stay,” but said the company’s interests “appear to be primarily financial in nature.” While the company claimed the DOD stood in the way of its free speech rights, “Anthropic does not demonstrate that its speech has been chilled during the pendency of this litigation,” the order states.
DOD relied on two different designations – 10 USC § 3252 and 41 USC § 4713 – to justify the supply chain risk action, and they have to be challenged in two different courts. The 41 USC § 4713 designation falls under the jurisdiction of the appeals court in Washington, D.C.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
Watch: Anthropic wins preliminary injunction in fight over Pentagon blacklisting
