Anthropic has won an early round in its lawsuit against the Pentagon.

Judge Rita Lin on Thursday sided with the artificial intelligence (AI) company in an order finding that directives from President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that all government agencies immediately stop using Anthropic tools could not be enforced for the time being.

Judge Lin wrote in her order that the government was attempting to "cripple Anthropic" and "chill public debate" because of the company's concerns over how its technology was being used by the US Department of Defense.

"This appears to be classic First Amendment retaliation," the judge added.

The order means that Anthropic's tools, like Claude, will continue to be used in the government and by any outside company working with the military until the lawsuit is resolved.