Following a disagreement with the Pentagon on the employment of AI in the military, the Trump administration is appealing a judge’s judgment prohibiting the federal government from taking disciplinary action against the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic.
On Thursday, attorneys for the Department of Justice filed a notice in San Francisco federal court that they intend to appeal U.S. District Judge Rita Lin’s decision from last week. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will review Lin’s order, has set an April 30 deadline for the Justice Department to submit documents indicating why the decision should be reversed.
Last week, Lin declared that she was preventing the Pentagon from designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk. Additionally, she claimed to be preventing the implementation of President Donald Trump’s social media order directing all federal departments to cease utilizing Anthropic and its chatbot, Claude.
Lin claimed that the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “broad punitive measures” against the AI company were arbitrary, capricious, and had the potential to “cripple Anthropic,” especially given Hegseth’s use of a unique military power that has previously been used against foreign enemies.
The Orwellian idea that an American business could be labeled a possible enemy and saboteur of the United States for voicing disagreement with the government is not supported by the governing statute, Lin wrote.
Last week, U.S. Defense Undersecretary Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, referred to Lin’s directive as a “disgrace” and stated on social media that it would prevent Hegseth from fully conducting military operations with its chosen partners.
Lin had stayed her order for a week, allowing the Pentagon to take the issue to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She also stated that her directive does not obligate the Pentagon to employ Anthropic products or restrict it from switching to other AI suppliers.
Anthropic has also filed a separate, more specific complaint, which is still pending in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. That lawsuit involves a different rule being used by the Pentagon to try to declare Anthropic as a supply chain risk.
On February 27, after discussions over a defense contract soured due to Anthropic’s attempt to stop its AI technology from being used in fully autonomous weapons or American surveillance, Trump and Hegseth made their activities against the firm public. The Pentagon had said that it should have the freedom to use Claude however it sees appropriate.
A variety of third parties, including Microsoft, trade associations for the industry, regular IT workers, former U.S. military officers, and a group of Catholic theologians, had submitted court filings in support of Anthropic’s cause.
