Trump Steps Aside as Advanced US Weapons Supplier Said to Be Stronger
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company from the United States, has sued the US government after being placed on the Department of Defence’s “supply chain risk” blacklist. Analysts believe this lawsuit could pose a significant challenge to the Trump administration’s national security policies.
In the lawsuit filed on Monday, 9 March, Anthropic contended that the Pentagon’s decision to designate the company as a supply chain risk violated its rights to freedom of speech and due process. The company also alleged that the action was intended to punish its views regarding the secure use of AI in warfare.
The designation could have major implications for the company’s business. Anthropic executives stated that the decision could reduce company revenues by billions of dollars by 2026 and damage its reputation in the defence technology industry.
The Pentagon used a law called Section 3252 to place Anthropic on the supply chain risk list. This regulation allows the government to ban companies from pursuing certain contracts if deemed to pose a potential threat to military information systems.
However, several US national security law experts believed the government’s action likely exceeded its legal authority. Anthropic’s legal arguments were considered stronger in challenging the Trump administration’s decision.
“It is not at all clear whether this law could be applied to a US company with no foreign ties,” said Alan Rozenshtein, professor of law at University of Minnesota Law School, quoted by Reuters on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
Experts: Trump and Pentagon Position Weak
Anthropic argued in its lawsuit that the supply chain risk designation punished the company for its views on AI safety, which violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution protecting freedom of speech.
Legal experts said that public attacks by Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth against Anthropic, including Trump’s social media posts calling the company a “RADICAL LEFT WOKE COMPANY”, could strengthen this argument.
“Many statements by Hegseth and Pentagon actions have actually weakened their position and suggest personal animus and a poor relationship between the two parties,” said Joel Dodge, a legal expert at Vanderbilt University.
Anthropic affirmed that it is not part of any nation considered an enemy by the US government, such as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.
The dispute also relates to the company’s Claude AI technology, which Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously praised.
In court documents, it was noted that Hegseth had called Claude an “exquisite” technology that the Defence Department “would very much like to work with”.
Anthropic’s AI Tool as US Warfare Weapon Against Iran
Yet oddly, the US military continues to use Claude in military operations, including in strikes against Iran last month.
Meanwhile, Amos Toh, a national security law expert from the Brennan Centre for Justice, stated that the policy on Claude’s use did not indicate a risk of foreign sabotage.
“This is essentially a safety protocol. You can debate whether this protocol is acceptable, but the policy actually directly contradicts the very risk that the law is designed to regulate,” said Toh.
The decision to blacklist Anthropic came after the company refused to lift restrictions on its AI use. Anthropic prohibits its technology from being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. The Pentagon considered these restrictions to be potentially dangerous to American lives.
Anthropic believes the Pentagon’s action is arbitrary and violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which allows courts to overturn government policies if deemed irrational or an abuse of authority.