Trump-Appointed Judges Refuse to Block Anthropic Blacklisting — Oral Arguments Set for May 19
A DC Circuit panel of three Republican appointed judges — including two Trump appointees — denied Anthropic's emergency motion to halt its designation as a 'Su…
Published on MyPrivateClaw
Apr 10, 2026, 5:08 AM UTC
Coverage date
Apr 8, 2026
Last updated
Apr 10, 2026, 5:09 AM UTC
News summary
A DC Circuit panel of three Republican appointed judges — including two Trump appointees — denied Anthropic's emergency motion to halt its designation as a 'Supply Chain Risk to National Security.' The court acknowledged Anthropic 'will likely suffer some degree of irreparable harm' but declined to stay the order pending appeal. Oral arguments are scheduled for May 19. The case centres on Anthropic's refusal to allow Claude to be used for autonomous weapons targeting and mass surveillance of American citizens, which the company argues is constitutionally protected speech. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's blacklisting order prohibits all military contractors from doing business with Anthropic. The outcome will set a precedent for whether AI companies can be penalised by the federal government for refusing to build capabilities they consider ethically unacceptable — with direct implicatio…