Judge: Trump Admin Lacks Evidence for Anthropic ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Label
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the administration has not provided sufficient evidence to justify labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk and banning federal agencies from using its technology.
During a hearing on Thursday, Judge Rita Lin stated that the Trump administration has failed to present enough evidence to justify labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk and prohibiting the federal government from using the company's technology. Bloomberg and Axios were among the first to report the news.
The dispute stems from stalled contract negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense. Anthropic said it did not want its AI used for mass surveillance of Americans or for targeting and firing decisions involving lethal weapons, arguing the technology was not ready. The Pentagon countered that a private company should not dictate how the military uses technologies and said it would use the tools in “lawful” ways.
The government also argued that Anthropic’s public criticism of the DoD justifies the ban — logic that Judge Lin called “really troubling,” warning it could set a precedent of retaliating against federal contractors who disagree with the administration. The DoD further claimed Anthropic could potentially disable or alter its AI models during warfighting operations — a claim that experts say lacks evidence. Lin agreed, saying she saw no proof Anthropic could alter a delivered model or “flip some kind of kill switch.”
Thursday’s hearing was part of one of two lawsuits Anthropic filed against the DoD in March, challenging the ban and risk designation. The other is being heard in Washington. Lin, who temporarily blocked the ban in March, is now weighing whether to make that order permanent.
