Dispatch from Anthropic v. Department of War Summary Judgment Motion Hearing

A federal judge in San Francisco is examining the Trump administration's ban on Anthropic in federal agencies. This week's hearing, per LessWrong, went poorly for the government. Judge Lin already blocked the ban with a preliminary injunction in March, and at this week's oral arguments, her questioning signaled serious doubts. At the heart of the case is a contract dispute: the administration says it can't trust Anthropic as a contractor, but Anthropic says the government is punishing it for refusing certain contract terms. The judge posed pointed hypotheticals about whether the government can blacklist a company for exercising free speech rights, and the government's attorney couldn't give clear answers. The record has worsened for the government since March—there's no evidence Anthropic could sabotage its AI model after delivery, undermining one of the government's central justifications. Congress is also moving to prevent such actions, having added language to the defense bill prohibiting the government from designating domestic companies as supply chain risks merely for declining contract terms.

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