Anthropic seeks D.C. rehearing over Pentagon blacklist of AI models

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Anthropic Pentagon AI blacklist

Highlights

Anthropic filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking rehearing after a 2-1 panel upheld the Pentagon’s March ban of its AI models.
Anthropic argues the Defense Department blacklisted it as a national security supply chain risk in retaliation for refusing military mass surveillance and lethal autonomous weapon uses.
After winning a $200 million Pentagon contract in July 2025, Anthropic’s deployment negotiations collapsed, with the ongoing case fueling uncertainty around AI-provider access to U.S. defense opportunities.

Court petition challenges blacklist basis

As first reported by CNBC, Anthropic filed a petition on Tuesday asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rehear its case against the Pentagon's blacklisting of its AI models. The company is trying to overturn a September decision in which a divided 2-1 panel upheld the Defense Department's action.

In the filing, Anthropic's lawyers argue the court overlooked what they call clear evidence that the designation retaliates against the company's speech on AI safety. They write that the Defense Department branded Anthropic a national security supply chain risk after the company refused to allow its models to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or lethal autonomous warfare and publicly explained those commitments.

The Pentagon imposed the label in March, blocking defense contractors from using Anthropic technology in agency-related work. The September ruling rejected Anthropic's argument that the ban on its Claude models is arbitrary, unauthorized and unconstitutional.

Contract history and defense sector implications

Before the dispute became public earlier this year, Anthropic serves as an early partner for many U.S. agencies, including the Defense Department. The company signed a $200 million Pentagon contract in July 2025, but negotiations over deployment of Claude on the DOD's GenAI.mil platform break down that September.

The case highlights growing friction between AI developers and defense customers over acceptable military uses of advanced models. A rehearing request keeps the dispute active as contractors, federal agencies and rival AI providers assess how policy, procurement rules and AI safety positions could affect access to U.S. defense work.

Representatives for Anthropic and the Pentagon do not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In our earlier article on U.S. AI oversight and safety controls, we covered how tech leaders argued for stronger safeguards around advanced models, including the use of bounded permissions to reduce misuse. We also noted the political headwinds for near-term federal regulation and the industry’s push toward self-regulation amid rising AI safety concerns.

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