Anthropic v. DOD Hearing Tuesday; Judge Lin's Questions Signal Skepticism of Government's Case

US District Judge Rita Lin heard Anthropic's motion for a preliminary injunction against the Pentagon's 'supply chain risk' designation at a 4:30 PM ET hearing in San Francisco. The designation bars DOD and its contractors from using Claude. Anthropic argues the classification violates First Amendment protections and due process, calling it retaliation for the company's refusal to strip safety guardrails preventing autonomous weapons and mass surveillance use. Lin sent pre-hearing questions focused on discrepancies between Hegseth's formal directive and his social media posts. Legal experts assess Anthropic will likely prevail, citing Hegseth's problematic X post directing the designation before following statutory procedures.