Appeals court upholds Pentagon ban on Anthropic military contracts

A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled 2-1 to uphold the Pentagon's decision to blacklist Anthropic from military contracts. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded in February that Anthropic remove safeguards blocking Claude from fully autonomous lethal weapons and mass domestic surveillance. Anthropic refused on February 26. Hegseth designated Anthropic a national security risk on March 3. The designation canceled Anthropic's existing military contracts. It also barred other Pentagon contractors from using Anthropic's technology. The court's decision said an Anthropic executive had questioned a contractor's use of Claude during a specific military operation. Media reports in the case record identified that mission as the January 3 operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Defense officials cited the episode as evidence that Claude remained too unpredictable for military reliance. Judge Gregory Katsas wrote the majority opinion with Judge Neomi Rao. Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson dissented. A separate California court ruled a broader parallel Trump administration ban unconstitutional last month. Judge Rita Lin called that ban retaliation intended to make a public example of Anthropic. An Anthropic spokesperson said the company respectfully disagreed and cited the other court's ruling. It remains unclear whether Anthropic will seek rehearing or appeal to the Supreme Court.