---
type: source
title: "Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Block Pentagon Blacklisting of Anthropic, Sets May 19 Oral Arguments"
author: "Multiple (The Hill, CNBC, Bloomberg, Bitcoin News)"
url: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5823132-appeals-court-rejects-anthropic-halt/
date: 2026-04-08
domain: grand-strategy
secondary_domains: [ai-alignment]
format: article
status: unprocessed
priority: high
tags: [anthropic-pentagon, dc-circuit-appeal, supply-chain-designation, first-amendment, voluntary-constraints, oral-arguments]
---

## Content

Multiple outlets reporting on the DC Circuit's April 8, 2026 order in the Anthropic v. Pentagon supply chain designation case.

Key facts:
- DC Circuit three-judge panel denied Anthropic's emergency stay request
- Two Trump-appointed judges (Katsas and Rao) concluded "balance of equities favored the government" citing "judicial management of how the Pentagon secures AI technology during an active military conflict"
- The case was EXPEDITED: oral arguments set for May 19, 2026 — approximately 6 weeks
- Supply chain designation remains IN FORCE pending May 19 hearing
- Anthropic excluded from DoD classified contracts; can still work with other federal agencies
- Separate California district court preliminary injunction (Judge Rita Lin, March 26) remains valid for that jurisdiction

The core dispute: Anthropic's two terms of service red lines that triggered the designation:
1. Ban on fully autonomous weapons systems (including armed drone swarms without human oversight)
2. Prohibition on mass surveillance of US citizens

The split ruling structure: Two courts reached opposite conclusions on the merits (California district court: First Amendment retaliation; DC Circuit: government interest during active military conflict).

Bloomberg: "Anthropic fails for now to halt US label as a supply chain risk" — emphasizes the "for now" temporariness pending May 19.

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** The May 19 oral arguments are the next major test of whether national security exceptions to First Amendment corporate safety constraints are durable precedent or limited to active-conflict conditions. The split between California district court (Anthropic wins) and DC Circuit (Anthropic loses for now) creates a genuine legal uncertainty that the circuit court will resolve.

**What surprised me:** The expediting of the case is genuinely ambiguous as a signal — it could mean the circuit believes the district court was wrong (government wins) OR that it wants to quickly restore Anthropic's rights (Anthropic wins). The "expedited" framing in multiple headlines is treated as positive, but the effect of the order is the designation stays in force for 6 more weeks minimum.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Any dissent from the DC Circuit order, or a judge indicating sympathy for Anthropic's First Amendment argument. The order was unanimous in denying the stay — all three judges agreed the designation should stay in force pending full argument.

**KB connections:** This is the critical update to the Session 04-08 "First Amendment floor" analysis. The floor is conditionally suspended during active military operations. The May 19 date creates a clear next checkpoint.

**Extraction hints:** The claim is about the "pending test" structure: "The DC Circuit's May 19 oral arguments in Anthropic v. Pentagon will determine whether voluntary corporate safety constraints have First Amendment protection as a structural governance mechanism, or whether national security exceptions make the protection situation-dependent during active military operations."

**Context:** The Anthropic-Pentagon dispute began February 24, 2026 with Hegseth's Friday deadline. The DC Circuit order on April 8 represents the most recent legal development.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)

PRIMARY CONNECTION: First Amendment floor on voluntary corporate safety constraints — Session 04-08 claim candidate

WHY ARCHIVED: The May 19 oral arguments date is the specific event creating the next test of the voluntary governance protection mechanism — this source establishes the timeline and the split ruling structure

EXTRACTION HINT: The key claim update: the Session 04-08 "First Amendment floor" claim needs a qualifier — it's "conditionally robust (active military operations exception)." This source provides the DC Circuit's specific language: "judicial management during active military conflict."
