Pentagon’s Supply-Chain Risk Designation of Anthropic Remains in Legal Limbo

On April 24, 2026, U.S. District Judge Rita Linden rejected the Department of Justice’s bid to suspend its appeal of a March order that temporarily barred the Pentagon from labeling AI firm Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, and set a four-week deadline for the government to compile an administrative record.

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The March injunction halted the Pentagon’s risk label on Anthropic, forcing the company to sue in both the Northern California district and the D.C. Circuit, targeting the Pentagon and 16 other agencies. A three-judge D.C. Circuit panel on April 8 rejected Anthropic’s request to pause the designation, creating a split with the California case. Key actors include Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, the Pentagon, the Department of Justice, Judge Rita Linden, and White House officials Susie Wiles, Scott Bessent and Sean Cairncross, who met with Amodei to discuss the Mythos model. President Donald Trump later signaled openness to a deal.

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• March 2026 – Temporary injunction blocks the Pentagon’s supply-chain risk label on Anthropic.

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• April 8, 2026 – D.C. Circuit panel rejects Anthropic’s pause request.

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• Early April 2026 – White House officials meet CEO Dario Amodei.

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• April 24, 2026 – Judge Linden denies DOJ’s pause request, sets a four-week deadline.

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• April 24, 2026 – President Trump tells CNBC a deal with Anthropic is “possible” and calls its executives “very smart people.”

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The dispute pits national-security supply-chain safeguards against rapid AI deployment. A settlement could permit federal testing of Anthropic’s Mythos model, while the courts’ rulings may shape future criteria for labeling AI technologies as supply-chain risks.

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Judge Linden noted the government had not shown enough evidence for a two-month extension and called reliance on the pending D.C. Circuit decision speculative. The Department of Justice and Anthropic declined comment. President Trump said a deal with Anthropic is “possible” and praised its executives as “very smart people.” The judge’s criticism of the DOJ request and the D.C. Circuit’s refusal to pause the designation underscore judicial resistance to delaying the Pentagon’s risk label. The lack of remarks from both parties leaves their positions on the appeal unclear.

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• “[I]t is speculative, at best, that the D.C. Circuit’s decision will simplify matters in this action,” — Judge Rita Linden

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• “Lin, in her order, also found that the government’s lawyers did not provide enough evidence that they needed an extra two months to compile an administrative record from the 16 other agencies that Anthropic sued in addition to the Pentagon.” — Judge Rita Linden

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• “President Donald Trump alsotold CNBCon Tuesday that a deal with Anthropic is “possible,” and that the company’s executives are “very smart people.” — President Donald Trump, CNBC interview

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• “She determined that an additional four weeks would be sufficient.” — Judge Rita Linden

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The government must file the required record within four weeks. The case may return to the D.C. Circuit for clarification, and ongoing talks between Anthropic and White House officials could produce a formal agreement on Mythos use.

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