Warren Accuses Pentagon of Retaliating Against Anthropic Over AI Weapons Safeguards; Court Hearing Monday

Sen. Warren wrote to Defense Secretary Hegseth calling the Pentagon's supply chain risk designation of Anthropic 'retaliation' for the company's refusal to allow Claude AI for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons without human oversight. Warren argued DOD could have simply terminated its contract rather than applying a label that bars all Pentagon contractors from using Anthropic products. Separately, legal experts told Breaking Defense that inflammatory public statements by Trump ('Leftwing nut jobs'), Hegseth ('arrogance and betrayal'), and Pentagon CTO Michael ('a liar with a God-complex') constitute 'admissions against interest' that strengthen Anthropic's legal position. A former JAG gave Anthropic 'greater than 50 percent odds' of securing a preliminary injunction when District Judge Rita Lin hears the case Monday.