Secretary of the U.S. Department of War (DOW) Pete Hegseth outlined planned reforms to DOW’s acquisition strategy in a memo, “Transforming the Warfighting Acquisition System to Accelerate Fielding of Capabilities,” on...more
11/21/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Supply Chain
This alert serves to remind contractors of the much-ballyhooed Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and updates our previous articles on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) proposed CMMC Program rule and DoD’s...more
Since January 20, 2025, a number of grant recipients have filed lawsuits challenging the federal government's decisions to withhold funding and/or terminate grant agreements. In many cases, grantees have alleged that the...more
10/6/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Contract Termination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
First Amendment ,
Government Agencies ,
Trump Administration ,
Unconstitutional Condition
As we have noted in recent client alerts, we have arrived at the end of a fiscal year in which there have been numerous policy-based program reductions and grant terminations across federally funded sectors. ...more
10/2/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appropriations Bill ,
COFC ,
Continuing Resolution ,
Contract Termination ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Government Agencies ,
Grants ,
OMB ,
Separation of Powers ,
Statutory Interpretation
The Department of Defense (DoD) recently finalized a new rule, to be codified at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7021 (contract clause) and 252.204-7025 (solicitation provision), which will...more
On August 25, 2025, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a final rule intended to prevent consulting services providers from contracting with certain foreign entities. ...more
Nonprofits and other federal grant recipients have struggled through 2025, a year of fiscal tightening in federal grant programs, from the termination of numerous grants and programs the current administration perceives as...more
9/10/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Foreign Aid ,
GAO ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Review ,
Nonprofits ,
Public Broadcasting ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Stays ,
USAID
The second Trump administration has enacted numerous policy changes impacting federal grant recipients, including many nonprofit organizations. On August 7, the administration issued a new Executive Order (EO) that will more...more
A wave of executive orders from the Trump administration is rapidly reshaping the landscape for federal contractors, with sweeping changes to U.S. foreign aid, diversity initiatives, and gender policy....more
4/7/2025
/ Contract Disputes ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Management ,
Stop Work Orders ,
Trump Administration
Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has introduced sweeping changes across the federal government that have impacted the federal grantee and contractor community. Adding to these changes, the National Institutes...more
2/14/2025
/ Colleges ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Grants ,
Guidance Update ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Research and Development ,
Retroactive Application ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
On January 29, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinded M-25-13, which it had issued two days earlier, and which required federal agencies to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or...more
On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued a widely expected executive order (EO), Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, targeting affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more
Among a bevy of executive orders issued by President Trump on the day of his inauguration (January 20, 2025) was the executive order (EO) Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid....more
Effective January 16, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule intended to close what SBA considered to be a long-standing loophole in its size recertification rules that allowed a large business to...more
1/24/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Final Rules ,
Mergers ,
Multiple Award Contracts ,
Popular ,
Recertification ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
Small Business
On September 17, 2024, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the General Services Administration (GSA) released its Audit Plan for the 2025 fiscal year, which includes, among other activities, certain, and potentially...more
Under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA), awarding a contract under the U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) is a competitive procedure—so long as the MAS program is...more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has released a proposed rule that would significantly alter a number of SBA small business program regulations, including those governing size recertifications. ...more
The Department of Defense (DoD) delivered its proposed Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program rule (CMMC) the day after Christmas this year, including several related guidance documents (listed here). The proposed...more
1/2/2024
/ Certification Requirements ,
Comment Period ,
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
NIST ,
Proposed Rules ,
Subcontractors
The end of the calendar year once again sees Congress rapidly approaching the holiday finish line with unresolved business. From most indications, however, members will successfully send a defense authorization bill to...more
As the 2023 calendar year comes to a close, there are a number of important legal, regulatory, and other updates relevant to the government contracts industry. This digest provides an overview of the government's annual bid...more
In recent years, we have seen statutory and regulatory exclusions from federal contracting of various entities and their goods and services happening outside the normal suspension and debarment process, the most notable being...more
On December 26, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (commonly referred to as the "Uniform Guidance"). The...more
9/29/2023
/ Audits ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Grants ,
Guidance Update ,
OMB ,
Proposed Rules
In August 2023, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) announced a new strategic plan to investigate the life cycle of Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care contracts from...more
The federal government's most recent TikTok ban is both simple and complex. The prohibition bans federal contractors from using or even installing the TikTok app on covered information technology (IT) devices....more
6/20/2023
/ Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Electronic Devices ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Interim Rule ,
National Security ,
OMB ,
Popular ,
Social Media ,
TikTok
The Department of Defense (DOD) has proposed an updated rule in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to increase Buy American Act content thresholds for federal government contractors under DOD...more