Trump administration argues Pentagon's Anthropic ban is justified, lawful |
Trump administration argues Pentagon’s Anthropic ban is justified, lawful
The Trump administration is doubling down on its decision to cut ties with Anthropic, arguing in a new court filing that the move is “lawful and reasonable” and not a violation of free speech, as the artificial intelligence (AI) firm alleges.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), in an expected court filing Tuesday, urged a federal judge in California to reject Anthropic’s request for a preliminary injunction on the Pentagon’s labeling of the AI company as a supply chain risk.
DOJ attorneys said Anthropic’s terms of service “have become unacceptable to the executive branch,” after the AI firm pressed for specific restrictions on the use of its technology for autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance. The Pentagon maintains the federal government can use its AI services for “any lawful purpose.”
“If it were any other way, an AI provider might gain influence over how DOW conducts operations and which missions it chooses,” the DOJ wrote, adding that throughout negotiations, “Anthropic’s behavior more generally caused the Department to question whether Anthropic represented a trusted partner with whom the department was willing to contract in this highly sensitive area.”
The DOJ suggested Anthropic could try to disable its technology or “preemptively alter” the behavior of its model during warfighting, stating the Pentagon sees that as an “unacceptable risk to national security.”
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said during negotiations that the company understands the DOD, “not private companies, makes military decisions.”
“We have never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner,” Amodei said late last month.
After negotiations fell apart earlier this month, Anthropic filed suit against the Trump administration for the supply chain risk designation, alleging the Pentagon retaliated against the company for its viewpoints on AI safety and the limitations of its AI models.
The DOJ suggested Anthropic’s First Amendment claim is unlikely to succeed, arguing the company’s refusal to accept the government’s contractual term is conduct, not speech.
“To conclude otherwise ‘would extend First Amendment protection to every commercial transaction on the ground that it communicates to the customer information about a product or service,’” the DOJ filing stated.
The federal government also maintained Anthropic’s speech was not a “motivating factor” for the actions, as Anthropic argues.
“Even assuming a retaliatory motive, the government would have acted the same,” the filing stated, adding later, “‘The challenged actions have a legitimate ground in national security concerns, quite apart from any retaliatory animus.’”
Anthropic is asking a federal court in California to reverse the Pentagon’s decision and an appeals court in D.C. to review the designation. The DOJ said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s determination is not contrary to the law and is within the covered scope of the secretary’s authority.
When reached for comment Wednesday, a company spokesperson told The Hill, “We are reviewing the government’s filing and look forward to presenting our response to the court.”
“As we shared last week, seeking judicial review does not change our longstanding commitment to harnessing AI to protect our national security, but this is a necessary step to protect our business, our customers, and our partners,” the spokesperson added.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Trump’s takeover of DC landmarks reaches legal apex
Mullin agrees to meet with committee behind closed doors after dustup over ...
Thune: Republicans will use SAVE Act in midterms if Democrats don’t get ‘on ...
Rand Paul confronts Markwayne Mullin over ‘snake’ remark; says he has ...
US military drops 5,000-pound deep-penetrator bombs near Strait of Hormuz
Judge skeptical over Trump ballroom project amid new bid to halt it
GOP tempers flare over how to pass SAVE America Act
Mullin says FEMA should be ‘restructured’ and that he’ll end Noem’s ...
Watch live: Powell gives remarks as Federal Reserve keeps rates steady amid ...
Rand Paul says he’s a ‘no’ vote on Mullin for DHS secretary
Republicans collide with Trump over no-excuse absentee voting, SAVE Act
Trump talk about taking over countries will ‘come back to bite us in the rear ...
Bolton says he briefed Trump on Iran scenarios: ‘Hard to believe that he ...
Live updates: Paul tussles with Mullin at DHS hearing; Iran operation dominates ...
Judge permanently blocks Ten Commandments displays at several Arkansas school ...
Peters presses Mullin to explain past comments: ‘Where did you smell war?’
Iran threatens strikes on oil and gas targets after South Pars gas field hit
Johnson says Democrats’ pitch to fund DHS without ICE, CBP would ‘defund ...