Judge blocks Pentagon from labeling Anthropic AI a “supply chain risk” and halts Trump’s ban on federal use

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 prevents the government from enforcing its supply chain risk designation against Anthropic, which aims 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 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.  

This is a breaking story; it will be updated.