A judge has blocked the Trump administration from labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk and cutting off all federal work with the artificial intelligence firm, an early win for Anthropic in its bitter feud with the government over AI guardrails.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin on Thursday ruled in favor of Anthropic, which sued the federal government earlier this month for taking actions that it called an “unprecedented and unlawful” attempt to punish the company for First Amendment-protected speech.
Lin’s ruling in the case prevents the government from enforcing its supply chain risk designation against Anthropic, a move that aimed to stop private government contractors from using the company’s powerful Claude AI model. It also halts an order by President Trump for every federal agency to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology.”
The dispute revolves around Anthropic’s push to bar the military from using Claude for domestic surveillance or to power fully autonomous weapons. The Trump administration has said it needs the ability to use AI for “all lawful purposes.”
The judge wrote that her ruling does not stop the Trump administration from taking “lawful actions” that were allowed beforehand, so it does not necessarily mean the government must use Anthropic.
“For example, this Order does not require the Department of War to use Anthropic’s products or services and does not prevent the Department of War from transitioning to other artificial intelligence providers, so long as those actions are consistent with applicable regulations, statutes, and constitutional provisions,” she wrote.
Lin stayed her order for seven days, giving the government an opportunity to appeal.
In a statement after the ruling, a spokesperson for Anthropic said, “We’re grateful to the court for moving swiftly, and pleased they agree Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits. While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI.”
This is a breaking story; it will be updated.