Anthropic, the maker of AI software Claude, is suing the Trump administration for what it says is an “unlawful campaign of retaliation” because the company denied the military permission to use its technology unfettered.
On Monday, Anthropic sued several government agencies and officials in a California federal court, asking the court to overturn the Defense Department’s decision to designate the company a “supply chain risk.”
It is also seeking to overturn US President Donald Trump’s directive to federal employees to stop using Clod. Anthropic also appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington to challenge the Defense Department’s decision.
“These actions are unprecedented and illegal,” Anthropic said. “The Constitution does not allow the government to use its vast power to punish a company for its protected speech.”
Claude has “never been tested” for the uses sought by the Pentagon.
Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is named in the lawsuit, moved to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk, effective March 3, meaning any person or business that does business with the military cannot do business with Anthropic.
This is the first time a US company has been designated a supply chain risk, a designation usually reserved for companies linked to foreign competitors.
The US government and the Pentagon have been using Anthropic since 2024, and the company’s technology is the first AI to be used in covert operations.
Anthropic said Hegseth’s decision came after he demanded the company “completely lift restrictions on its use,” but Anthropic argued that its technology should not be used for deadly autonomous warfare and mass surveillance of Americans, clauses that have always been part of its government contracts.
“Anthropic has never tested Clod for these uses,” the company said in its lawsuit. “At this time, Anthropic is not certain that, for example, Claude will perform reliably or safely if used to support lethal autonomous warfare.”
related to: US Military Uses Anthropic Attack in Iran Despite Trump Banning Order: WSJ
Anthropic’s lawsuit also names the US Treasury Department and its Secretary Scott Bessent, the State Department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with 17 other government agencies and officials.
On Monday, a group of more than 30 AI engineers and scientists from OpenAI and Google, including its chief engineer Jeff Dean, also filed a legal opinion in support of Anthropic.
“If allowed, this effort to penalize one of the leading US AI companies will have ramifications for the industrial and scientific competitiveness of the United States in the field of artificial intelligence and beyond,” the group wrote.
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