A federal judge in California has indefinitely blocked the Pentagon’s effort to “punish” Anthropic by labeling it a supply chain risk and attempting to sever government ties with the AI company, ruling that those measures ran roughshod over its constitutional rights. Earlier this month, a federal judge in DC ruled that the secretary violated the First Amendment rights of several reporters when he implemented a restrictive new press policy. Hegseth took the dramatic, unprecedented step of labeling it a supply chain risk in February, and Hegseth and President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease using the product and sever ties with companies that do business with Anthropic. “The Department of War’s records show that it designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk because of its ‘hostile manner through the press.’”“Punishing Anthropic for bringing public scrutiny to the government’s contracting position is classic illegal First Amendment retaliation,” she added. A separate challenge by the company to other authorities Hegseth invoked to make the supply chain risk designation is still pending before a federal court in Washington, DC.

Source: CNN March 27, 2026 16:03 UTC