Federal appeals court refuses to block Trump’s blacklisting of Anthropic but expedites the case with oral arguments set for May 19

A three-judge panel at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, including two Trump appointees, denied Anthropic's emergency motion to halt the administration's designation of the company as a “Supply-Chain Risk to National Security,” though the court acknowledged Anthropic will likely suffer irreparable financial harm and agreed to expedite the case. The ruling is a setback but not Anthropic's only legal front, as a federal judge in California already granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction in March, describing the blacklisting as First Amendment retaliation, with the Trump administration now appealing that ruling to the 9th Circuit. Anthropic has argued the blacklisting is retaliation for refusing to allow Claude to be used for autonomous warfare and mass surveillance, while Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called the DC Circuit ruling “a resounding victory for military readiness.”