Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has launched legal action against the United States Department of Defense and the Trump administration, filing two lawsuits to challenge what it calls an “unlawful campaign of retaliation.”

The dispute emerged after the company refused to permit unrestricted military use of its AI chatbot Claude.

Anthropic is contesting the Pentagon’s decision to designate the firm as a “supply chain risk” and seeking to overturn a directive from Donald Trump ordering federal employees to stop using the chatbot.

The lawsuits, filed in a California federal court and the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., argue that the government’s actions are “unprecedented and unlawful.”

Anthropic maintains that the Constitution does not permit the federal government to punish a private company for protected speech or corporate policy decisions.

According to the company, pursuing legal action became necessary after it exhausted other avenues to halt what it sees as retaliation from the executive branch.

At the real heat of the conflict is Anthropic’s policy limiting the use of its AI technology in two specific areas: the mass surveillance of Americans and the development of fully autonomous weapons systems.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials had insisted the company must allow “all lawful uses” of Claude.

When Anthropic refused, the Pentagon invoked the “supply chain risk” designation—an authority typically used to block foreign technology threats—effectively restricting the company’s defense-related contracts.

Legal Battle Over AI Ethics and National Security

In a March 4 letter, Hegseth argued that the designation was necessary to protect national security, while Trump signaled plans for federal agencies to stop using Claude, granting the Pentagon a six-month transition period.

Anthropic’s legal challenge also extends to directives issued by other federal bodies, including the United States Department of the Treasury and the United States Department of State, instructing employees to discontinue the company’s services.

The dispute has widened across the technology sector, drawing in rivals such as OpenAI, which finalized a Pentagon collaboration soon after sanctions were imposed on Anthropic.

The Pentagon is reportedly exploring alternatives including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok.

Anthropic, founded in 2021 by CEO Dario Amodei, argues that the government’s actions threaten its reputation and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts, even as its stance on AI safety has strengthened support among some customers and technology professionals.