A federal judge on Thursday paused the Trump administration's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk, marking an early legal victory for the embattled company. Why it matters: Anthropic argued that the designation was causing immediate and irreparable harm as business partners rethink their contracts and federal agencies remove Claude. The preliminary injunction gives Anthropic relief from ongoing reputational damage and provides greater certainty for commercial partners, the company says.State of play: U.S. District Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction on Thursday.A parallel case is ongoing in a D.C. court.Anthropic is arguing in both proceedings that the Pentagon is violating the First Amendment and procurement law.The Pentagon has argued in court that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's and President Trump's online posts don't have legal standing and therefore there's no irreparable harm taking place.What they're saying: "We're grateful to the court for moving swiftly, and pleased they agree Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits," an Anthropic spokesperson said."While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI."Catch up quick: Lin during a hearing earlier this week expressed skepticism that the administration's punishments were aligned with national security concerns when the Pentagon could simply decide to stop using Claude. The administration's designation goes further and says any company that does business with the Pentagon has to cut ties with Anthropic.