Microsoft and retired military chiefs back AI company Anthropic in court fight against Pentagon

Microsoft and retired military chiefs back AI company Anthropic in court fight against Pentagon

By AP News
Publication Date: 2026-03-11 14:13:00

Microsoft and a group of retired military leaders are throwing their weight behind Anthropic in asking a federal court to block the Trump administration’s designation of the artificial intelligence company as a supply chain risk.

Microsoft, in a legal filing, is challenging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s action last week to shut Anthropic out of military work by labeling its AI products as posing a threat to national security.

So are a group of 22 former high-ranking U.S. military officials, some of whom were secretaries of the Air Force, Army and Navy and a head of the Coast Guard. They allege in their own court filing that Hegseth’s actions are a misuse of government authority for “retribution against a private company that has displeased the leadership.”

The Pentagon took the action against Anthropic after an unusually public dispute over the company’s refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its AI model Claude. President…