A federal judge in the United States ruled on Thursday (27) that the Trump administration acted illegally when it designated artificial intelligence startup Anthropic a national security risk and barred federal agencies and defense contractors from using its AI models.

Judge Rita Lin, of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, concluded in a 59-page ruling that the government unlawfully retaliated against the company "for constitutionally protected speech activity", after Anthropic spoke publicly about how its technology should be used.

"The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against critics of the government," the judge wrote.

Timeline of the case

• Early 2026: Anthropic and the Pentagon negotiate a US$ 200 million contract to supply AI technology to the military. The company sought assurances that its models would not be used in fully autonomous weapons or in domestic mass surveillance. The Department of Defense demanded unfettered access to the Claude model for all lawful purposes, according to CNBC. The talks collapsed.
• March 2026: the Pentagon designates Anthropic a supply chain risk, the first American company to be publicly named as such. The move blocked the startup's technology from use by government agencies and by companies working for the Defense Department.
• March 9, 2026: Anthropic files two lawsuits against the government, one in federal court in San Francisco and another in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Two fronts were needed because the Pentagon relied on two distinct designations to justify the punishment.
• August 27, 2026: Judge Rita Lin rules in Anthropic's favor in the California case.

What each side alleges

In her ruling, Lin quoted the government's argument that, given Anthropic's "increasingly hostile manner through the press" and its criticism of the Department of War's views on AI use, the defendants "cannot trust Anthropic to ensure the integrity of its models". The judge answered that "neither the Constitution nor the federal statute invoked by Defendants allows them to impose sweeping penalties based principally on Anthropic's critique of the Administration's views", as reported by CNBC. Although the government is owed deference on national security matters, she wrote, its actions had no "articulable basis" and reflected "a desire to make a public example" of the company.

In a statement, Anthropic welcomed the outcome: "We welcome the court's ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful. We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology." The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The New York Times, whose reporting was published in Portuguese by Folha de S.Paulo.

Next steps

The ruling closes the first of the two lawsuits, but Anthropic formally remains a supply chain risk until the case before the D.C. Circuit is decided, and no date has been set. The government may appeal Lin's decision or wait for the outcome of the second lawsuit before acting, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the NYT. The outcome also matters to markets: the company is heading toward what could be the largest IPO in history, and restoring ties with the Pentagon would reopen a line of business that is currently blocked.