Washington Court of Appeals reinstates Pentagon blacklisting of Anthropic by a vote of two to one

The classification of Claude as a supply chain risk by the Department of Defense is found to be justified. Anthropic can still request a reconsideration in full session or refer the matter to the Supreme Court.

On September 25, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the Department of Defense's decision to classify Anthropic as a supply chain risk — a designation that effectively closes access to federal defense contracts. The judgment, handed down by a vote of two to one, rejects the company's argument, which considered the measure arbitrary, without legal basis and contrary to the Constitution. It overturns the first instance decision that had overturned this blacklisting at the end of August.

In the majority opinion, Justice Gregory Katsas, joined by Justice Neomi Rao, held that the Ministry had sufficient evidence to conclude that keeping Claude in its information systems, directly or through its contractors, constituted a national security risk within the meaning of the law. Justice Karen LeCraft Henderson dissented.

The dispute dates back to March, when the department placed Anthropic on the list after the company refused to relax Claude's terms of use — conditions that exclude lethal autonomous weaponry and domestic surveillance. The panel suspended the immediate effect of its decision to give Anthropic time to request a new review by the same panel, a full reconsideration by all the judges in the circuit, or an appeal to the Supreme Court.