The Trump administration’s appeal seeks to undo a recent order by U.S. District Judge Rita Lin that temporarily blocked Pentagon actions against Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, as the two sides fight over how the government can use—or restrict—AI tools. Department of Justice attorneys filed a notice in San Francisco federal court on Thursday, signaling the government’s intent to take Judge Lin’s ruling to the Ninth Circuit. The appellate court set an April 30 deadline for the Justice Department to file documents spelling out why the decision should be reversed.
Judge Lin’s order last week restrained the Pentagon from labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk, according to the filing described by the Associated Press. Lin also blocked enforcement of a Trump social media directive ordering federal agencies to stop using Anthropic and its chatbot Claude. In her ruling, Lin said the “broad punitive measures” taken by the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared arbitrary and capricious, and she warned that they could “cripple Anthropic,” according to the account.
Lin’s order also described the government’s approach as inconsistent with the governing statute. In writing explaining her decision, Lin said the court filing reported she saw “nothing in the governing statute” supporting what she called the idea that an American company could be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the United States for expressing disagreement with the government.
The Pentagon’s position, as described in the AP report, drew a direct rebuttal from senior officials. A top Pentagon official said Judge Lin’s order was a “disgrace,” and U.S. Defense Undersecretary Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, said on social media that the decision would disrupt Hegseth’s “full ability to conduct military operations with the partners it chooses.” The government’s notice of appeal reflects a move to continue the fight through the Ninth Circuit after Lin had granted a weeklong stay, giving the Pentagon time to pursue appellate review.
Judge Lin’s order, as described in the same reporting, also included limitations on what she required. She said the ruling did not require the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s products and did not prevent the government from transitioning to other AI providers. Separately, the dispute remains active on multiple legal tracks: Anthropic has also filed its own, narrower case that is still pending in a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., involving what the company says is a different rule the Pentagon is using to try to declare it a supply chain risk.
The underlying dispute escalated publicly on Feb. 27, after Trump and Hegseth announced actions against Anthropic following negotiations over a defense contract. The AP report said talks broke down over the company’s attempt to prevent its AI technology from being deployed in fully autonomous weapons or in surveillance of Americans. The Pentagon, by contrast, argued it should be able to use Claude in any way it deems lawful, according to the report. In addition, the reporting said third parties filed legal briefs supporting Anthropic, including Microsoft, industry trade groups, rank-and-file tech workers, retired U.S. military leaders, and a group of Catholic theologians.
This appeal and the underlying cases come as courts weigh how far government agencies can go when they seek to restrict or punish private AI companies. The next steps in the Ninth Circuit will turn on what the Justice Department argues by the April 30 deadline.