Anthropic v. Dept. of War — D.C. Circuit upholds supply-chain-risk designation (2026)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, ruling Friday 2026-09-25 on Anthropic's petitions challenging the Defense Department ('Department of War') designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 (FASCSA). PANEL: Katsas (opinion), Rao (joined); Henderson (dissent). HOLDING: petitions denied; the department had statutory authority and 'ample support' for its national-security conclusion; majority: 'the definition of a supply chain risk ... hinges on what Anthropic does, not why Anthropic does it'; 'The Department reasonably feared that Anthropic might manipulate Claude's design to prevent it from performing national-security functions that the Department deems contractually authorized and necessary.' DISSENT: FASCSA was 'explicitly passed to protect against sabotage by malignant foreign powers.' BACKGROUND (AP): designation made in February 2026 by President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Anthropic refused to permit use for mass surveillance or autonomous armed drones. RELATED: separate N.D. Cal. case (Judge Rita Lin, per Breaking Defense) found unlawful First Amendment retaliation — indexed as Anthropic v. DOD First Amendment retaliation ruling (2026). NEXT: possible en banc petition or certiorari. NOT ESTABLISHED: D.C. Circuit docket number; petition filing date.