Inside Government Contracts

Procurement Law and Policy Insights

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On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14173, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (“EO 14173”), which, among other things, revoked Executive Order 11246 (“EO 11246”), a 60-year-old Civil Rights-era directive that prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or

This is the second blog in a series of Covington blogs on cybersecurity policies, executive orders (“EOs”), and other actions of the new Trump Administration.  This blog describes key cybersecurity developments that took place in March 2025. 

Trump Administration Executive Order on Achieving Efficiency

On March 19, 2025, the Trump Administration released an EO entitled

President Trump has issued two new Executive Orders (“EOs”) that seek to reshape federal procurement.  The much anticipated “Restoring Common Sense To Federal Procurement” EO (the “FAR Reform EO”) seeks to “create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible” by revising the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) such that the FAR contains

Since January 20, the Trump administration has taken numerous executive actions that impact federal government contractors and grant recipients. In just a single day last week, the Trump administration issued a series of EOs and presidential memoranda that, among other things, seek to reform the defense acquisition system, bolster the U.S. maritime industry,

On April 9, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO”), “Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation In the Defense Industrial Base,” that may have significant implications for federal government contractors doing business with the Department of Defense (“DoD”), and particularly those with touchpoints to Major Defense Acquisition Programs (“MDAPs”).

On April 9th, President Trump issued the Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance Executive Order (“Maritime EO”), which declares that “[i]t is the policy of the United States to revitalize and rebuild domestic maritime industries and workforce to promote national security and economic prosperity.”  The Maritime EO aims to improve the nation’s commercial shipbuilding capacity and bolster

President Trump issued a series of executive orders (“EOs”) and presidential memoranda on Wednesday, April 9, that could impact government contractors across a broad range of industries.  Among other initiatives, these executive actions seek to reform the defense acquisition system, reinvigorate the U.S. maritime industry, and streamline foreign military sales.  The actions also reflect President

On April 9th, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Reforming Foreign Defense Sales To Improve Speed And Accountability” (“the FMS EO”).  The FMS EO directs the Departments of Defense and State to reform the foreign defense sales system with the goal of “simultaneously strengthen[ing] the security capabilities of our allies and invigorat[ing]

As the second Trump Administration enters its third month, Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track the latest developments related to recent executive actions.  This April edition of our key developments timeline has been condensed to provide a targeted overview of the developments this month most relevant to contractors.  For a detailed version of

On April 3, the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) released two memoranda with AI guidance and requirements for federal agencies, Memorandum M-25-21 on Accelerating Federal Use of AI through Innovation, Governance, and Public Trust (“OMB AI Use Memo“) and Memorandum M-25-22 on Driving Efficient Acquisition of Artificial Intelligence in Government (“OMB AI