Anthropic Files Federal Lawsuits Against DoD

On March 9, 2026, Anthropic filed two federal lawsuits — one in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and one in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims — challenging the Pentagon’s supply chain risk designation as “unprecedented and unlawful.” The filings marked the first time a major American technology company had sued the Department of Defense over AI policy, escalating the confrontation from a commercial dispute into a constitutional test case.

The D.C. District Court filing challenged the designation on statutory grounds, arguing that the supply chain risk framework was enacted by Congress to address threats from foreign adversaries and had never been intended for use against domestic companies in contract disputes. Anthropic’s attorneys cited the legislative history of Section 889, which specifically referenced Chinese telecommunications companies, and argued that applying it to an American AI company required a reading of the statute that “finds no support in the text, structure, or history of the law.”

The Court of Federal Claims filing focused on the contract itself, arguing that the Pentagon’s termination of the $200 million OTA constituted a breach of the agreement’s terms, which included provisions for dispute resolution that the Pentagon had bypassed entirely. Anthropic also sought declaratory relief establishing that AI safety guardrails constitute protected commercial speech under the First Amendment — an argument that, if successful, would have broad implications for the government’s ability to compel private AI companies to modify their products.

Both filings requested expedited review and a temporary restraining order to prevent the 180-day removal timeline from proceeding while the cases were adjudicated. Anthropic’s legal team, led by former Solicitor General Neal Katyal, framed the case as having implications far beyond one company: “If the government can designate any American company a national security threat simply for refusing to build what the government demands, then the supply chain risk framework becomes a tool of economic coercion with no limiting principle.”