On September 18, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a civil False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlement against a New Jersey shipbuilder to resolve allegations that it improperly employed unauthorized workers to work on Navy ships. The settlement, which exceeded $4 million, is the second this year involving government contractors alleged to have employed unauthorized... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
On September 15, 2025, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (“ODNI”) issued the first public exclusion and removal order (the “Order”) under the framework established by the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 (“FASCSA”). The Order applies to all products and services produced or provided by Acronis AG as well as... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
This blog previously covered the Federal Circuit’s decision in Percipient.ai, Inc. v. United States, which addressed bid protest jurisdiction and standing at the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”), and seemed to potentially open the door to a new category of protests. Now, in an en banc ruling, the Federal Circuit vacated that decision and reached... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
This blog post discusses the Department of Defense’s (“DoD”) new cybersecurity rule that imposes certain cybersecurity requirements on relevant DoD contractors and subcontractors. The post will be of interest to all DoD contractors, subcontractors, and possibly affiliates of contractors that may be impacted by the new rule’s cybersecurity requirements. On September 10, 2025, DoD published... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
Though the 2nd Trump Administration has dramatically turned away from the energy and industrial policies of the Biden Administration, private-sector proponents of advanced energy projects may still find opportunities to partner with the federal government on certain Research and Development (R&D) or commercialization projects in the energy sector. Since January 2025, nearly all corners of... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
Consistent with the Trump Administration’s focus on procurement fraud, a recent settlement and guilty pleas secured by the DOJ demonstrate that bid rigging is in the Administration’s crosshairs. Government contractors should be aware of the legal risks associated with bid rigging when engaging in the bidding process. Bid Rigging and the False Claims Act Bid... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
On Friday, August 22, 2025, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released a proposed rule to increase the size standard for what it considers to be a| Inside Government Contracts
This is the sixth blog in a series of Covington blogs on cybersecurity policies, executive orders (“EOs”), and other actions of the Trump Administration. The fifth blog is available here and our initial blog is available here. This blog describes key cybersecurity developments that took place in July 2025. Trump Administration Issues AI Action Plan,... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
On August 13, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14335, “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry” (“EO 14335” or the “EO”). Framed as a push to “enhance American greatness by enabling a competitive launch marketplace and substantially increasing commercial space launch cadence and novel space activities by 2030,” EO 14335 directs federal agencies... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
By Scott Freling, Emma Merrill-Grubb As part of the Trump Administration’s Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (“RFO”), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council has been releasing streamlined Parts of the FAR on a rolling basis. We have been closely monitoring the RFO and its effects on the acquisition landscape, and publishing updates on the progress. To date,... Continue Reading…| Inside Government Contracts
This is part of an ongoing series of Covington blogs on the AI policies, executive orders, and other actions of the Trump Administration. This blog| Inside Government Contracts
On August 6, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council issued a final rule clarifying that contractors do not need to maintain a continuous| Inside Government Contracts
In a December 2020 speech, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston warned that cybersecurity fraud could see enhanced enforcement under the| Inside Government Contracts
In a recently announced settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Illumina, Inc. (“Illumina”) agreed to pay $9.8 million to| Inside Government Contracts
The Defense Production Act (DPA) has long been viewed as the primary federal mechanism for managing and supporting defense production. Since it was| Inside Government Contracts
Although it is usually good news for a protester when an agency takes corrective action, the corrective action sometimes fails to adequately address the| Inside Government Contracts
Earlier this month, in Bannum, Inc. v. United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of Federal Claims’| Inside Government Contracts
As we have covered on this blog, the rules governing the timing for bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) and Court of Federal| Inside Government Contracts
On July 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and General Services Administration (GSA) announced a $14.75 million settlement of Civil False| Inside Government Contracts
Inside Government Contracts is written by the Covington & Burling Government Contracts practice and offers legal insights & updates on contracting issues.| Inside Government Contracts
Since President Trump issued Executive Order (“E.O.”) 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement” on April 15, 2025 as part of an effort to| Inside Government Contracts