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
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En Banc Decision in Percipient.ai, Inc. v. United States: Federal Circuit Holds That Only Actual or Prospective Bidders or Offerors Have Bid Protest Standing Under Tucker Act
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
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program Procurement Final Rule Announced
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
Opportunities for Advanced Energy Partnerships in the 2nd Trump Administration
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
Bid Rigging Risk for Government Contractors
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.
SBA Proposes Increasing 200+ Receipts-Based Size Standards
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 small business across 263 industries. The proposed rule principally covers receipts-based size standards. These proposed increases stem from SBA’s periodic review of size standards to ensure the standards reflect
July 2025 Cybersecurity Developments Under the Trump Administration
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
Time To Overhaul FAR Part 42? The Novation Process Can Use An Upgrade
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, 25 streamlined FAR Parts
To Efficiency and Beyond?: President Trump Issues Executive Order to Enable a Competitive Space Launch Market
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
July 2025 AI Developments Under the Trump Administration
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 describes AI actions taken by the Trump Administration in July 2025, and prior articles in this series are available here.
White House Issues AI Action Plan
On July 23,