Anthropic Seeks Rehearing of Appeal Over Pentagon Supply-Chain Label

Anthropic has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rehear its appeal of the Pentagon’s supply-chain risk designation, which blocks defense contractors from using the company’s technology in work with the Defense Department.

The company filed its petition Tuesday, Oct. 13. The request follows a 2-1 decision on Sept. 25 in which the appeals court upheld the designation.

Anthropic’s lawyers argue the court overlooked evidence that the designation was retaliation for the company’s public statements about AI safety. The Defense Department applied the label in March after negotiations over military use of Anthropic’s Claude models broke down. Anthropic then sued the Trump administration to reverse the action.

The dispute also has a separate case in San Francisco, where a federal judge ruled in August that the Defense Department violated Anthropic’s First Amendment rights. The appeals court’s September ruling upheld the Pentagon’s designation in a separate challenge.