This is part of an ongoing series of Covington blogs on the AI policies, executive orders, and other actions of the Trump Administration. The first blog summarized key actions taken in the first weeks of the Trump Administration, including the revocation of President Biden’s 2023 Executive Order 14110 on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI” and the release of President Trump’s Executive Order 14179 on “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” (“AI EO”). This blog describes actions on AI taken by the Trump Administration in February 2025.
Continue Reading February 2025 AI Developments Under the Trump Administration
Nooree Lee
Nooree Lee represents government contractors in all aspects of the procurement process and focuses his practice on the regulatory aspects of M&A activity, procurements involving emerging technologies, and international contracting matters.
Nooree advises government contractors and financial investors regarding the regulatory aspects of corporate transactions and restructurings and – more recently – on equity investments by the U.S. government. His experience includes preparing businesses for sale, negotiating deal documents, coordinating large-scale diligence processes, and navigating pre- and post-closing regulatory approvals and integration. He has advised on 50+ M&A deals involving government contractors totaling over $40 billion in combined value. This includes Advent International's sale of Ultra Maritime to Lockheed Martin for $3.45 billion; Bridgepoint Group's sale of Evac Group to Altor Equity Partners; the acquisition of Perspecta Inc. by Veritas Capital portfolio company Peraton for $7.1 billion; and Cameco Corporation’s strategic partnership with Brookfield Renewable Partners to acquire Westinghouse Electric Company for $7.8+ billion. Nooree also advised the financial advisor and lead left arranger of MP Materials’ $1 billion in committed financing for its partnership with the Pentagon to build out the U.S. rare earth materials supply chain.
Nooree also counsels clients focused on delivering emerging technologies to public sector customers. Over the past several years, his practice has expanded to include advising on the intersection of government procurement and artificial intelligence. Nooree counsels clients on the negotiation of AI-focused agreements with the U.S. government and the rollout of federal and state-level regulations impacting the procurement and deployment of AI solutions on behalf of government agencies.
Nooree also counsels clients navigating the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) arrangements. Nooree has advised both U.S. and ex-U.S. companies in connection with defense sales to numerous foreign defense ministries, including those of Australia, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
In addition to his government contracts advising, Nooree assists clients with navigating federal Freedom of Information Act and state public records requirements, including objecting to a government agency’s proposed release of a company’s proprietary information.
In addition to his work within the firm, Nooree is the Secretary for the American Bar Association’s Section of Public Contract Law. He also previously served as the firm’s Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity program.
U.S. Federal and State Governments Moving Quickly to Restrict Use of DeepSeek
Last month, DeepSeek, an AI start-up based in China, grabbed headlines with claims that its latest large language AI model, DeepSeek-R1, could perform on par with more expensive and market-leading AI models despite allegedly requiring less than $6 million dollars’ worth of computing power from older and less-powerful chips. Although…
Continue Reading U.S. Federal and State Governments Moving Quickly to Restrict Use of DeepSeekJanuary 2025 AI Developments – Transitioning to the Trump Administration
This is the first in a new series of Covington blogs on the AI policies, executive orders, and other actions of the new Trump Administration. This blog describes key actions on AI taken by the Trump Administration in January 2025.
Outgoing President Biden Issues Executive Order and Data Center Guidance for AI Infrastructure
Before turning to the Trump Administration, we note one key AI development from the final weeks of the Biden Administration. On January 14, in one of his final acts in office, President Biden issued Executive Order 14141 on “Advancing United States Leadership in AI Infrastructure.” This EO, which remains in force, sets out requirements and deadlines for the construction and operation of “frontier AI infrastructure,” including data centers and clean energy facilities, by private-sector entities on federal land. Specifically, EO 14141 directs the Departments of Defense (“DOD”) and Energy (“DOE”) to lease federal lands for the construction and operation of AI data centers and clean energy facilities by the end of 2027, establishes solicitation and lease application processes for private sector applicants, directs federal agencies to take various steps to streamline and consolidate environmental permitting for AI infrastructure, and directs the DOE to take steps to update the U.S. electricity grid to meet the growing energy demands of AI.
On January 14, and in tandem with the release of EO 14141, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued Memorandum M-25-03 on “Implementation Guidance for the Federal Data Center Enhancement Act,” directing federal agencies to implement requirements related to the operation of data centers by federal agencies or government contractors. Specifically, the memorandum requires federal agencies to regularly monitor and optimize data center electrical consumption, including through the use of automated tools, and to arrange for assessments by certified specialists of data center energy and water usage and efficiency, among other requirements. Like EO 14141, Memorandum M-25-03 has yet to be rescinded by the Trump Administration.
Continue Reading January 2025 AI Developments – Transitioning to the Trump AdministrationPresident Trump Issues Numerous Executive Orders with Potential Impacts on Federal Contractors and Grant Recipients
In his first few days in office, President Trump issued several executive orders (“EOs”) and memoranda, many of which may have implications for federal contractors and grant recipients, including the following:
Continue Reading President Trump Issues Numerous Executive Orders with Potential Impacts on Federal Contractors and Grant RecipientsThe Proposed FAR Rule on OCIs: Big Changes May Be Coming
Yesterday, the FAR Council issued a proposed rule that would update the U.S. Government’s approach to organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs). While the proposed rule is not finalized and may change in response to forthcoming comments from interested parties, the proposed rule contemplates major changes to the FAR’s existing framework in this area. In this post, we summarize the background leading up to the proposed rule and highlight key areas of proposed change.
Background
Continue Reading The Proposed FAR Rule on OCIs: Big Changes May Be ComingNovember 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s AI Executive Order
This is part of an ongoing series of Covington blogs on the implementation of Executive Order No. 14110 on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” (the “AI EO”), issued by President Biden on October 30, 2023. The first blog summarized the AI EO’s key provisions and related OMB guidance, and subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various government agencies to implement the AI EO from November 2023 through October 2024. This blog describes key actions taken to implement the AI EO during November 2024 and potential implications of the 2024 U.S. election. We will discuss developments during November 2024 to implement President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on Cybersecurity in a separate post.
Continue Reading November 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s AI Executive OrderOctober 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s AI Executive Order
This is part of an ongoing series of Covington blogs on the implementation of Executive Order No. 14110 on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” (the “AI EO”), issued by President Biden on October 30, 2023. The first blog summarized the AI EO’s key provisions and related OMB guidance, and subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various government agencies to implement the AI EO from November 2023 through September 2024. This blog describes key actions taken to implement the AI EO during October 2024. We will discuss developments during October 2024 to implement President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on Cybersecurity in a separate post.
Continue Reading October 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s AI Executive OrderFederal Court Enjoins DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program On Equal Protection Grounds
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, there has been an increase in legal challenges to race and gender-based programs and initiatives in multiple contexts, including within government contracting. While the holding of Students for Fair Admissions did not address public contracting or disturb existing case law that considers the validity of similar government contracts programs, the decision has informed and reshaped the landscape for strict scrutiny challenges to these programs, and there has been a significant uptick in challenges to diversity-focused government procurement regulations.
Last month, in Mid-America Milling Company, LLC, et al., v. U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky temporarily enjoined the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) from mandating the use of race- and gender-based presumptions for DOT contracts impacted by Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) goals. The court found, among other things, that while DOT’s DBE program intends to combat historical discrimination and its lingering effects on the ability of disadvantaged businesses to equally compete for government contracts, the plaintiff was likely to prevail on the merits of its argument that the program’s “race and gender classifications” violate the Equal Protection clause.
Although the preliminary injunction currently remains geographically constrained to Kentucky and Indiana, the case is an important development for government contractors that are impacted by DBE related contracts. We summarize the key takeaways from the court’s holding, as well as its implications for government contractors, below.
Continue Reading Federal Court Enjoins DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program On Equal Protection GroundsSeptember 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s AI Executive Order
This is part of an ongoing series of Covington blogs on the implementation of Executive Order No. 14110 on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” (the “AI EO”), issued by President Biden on October 30, 2023. The first blog summarized the AI EO’s key provisions and related Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) guidance, and subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various government agencies to implement the AI EO from November 2023 through August 2024. This blog describes key actions taken to implement the AI EO during September 2024. It also describes related developments in California related to the goals and concepts set out by the AI EO. We will discuss developments during September 2024 to implement President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on Cybersecurity in a separate post.
Continue Reading September 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s AI Executive OrderEvery Quarter, On the Quarter: BIS Proposes New Reporting Requirements for the Development of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Models and Possession of Large-Scale Computing Clusters
A key component of President Biden’s October 2023 Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence is a directive to develop a mandatory industrial base survey for the development of advanced artificial intelligence (“AI”) models and computing clusters. Leveraging authority under the Defense Production Act, President Biden charged the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) to implement this industrial base assessment. On September 9, 2024, BIS proposed to amend its Industrial Base survey regulations by establishing reporting requirements for the development of advanced AI models and possession of large-scale computing clusters.
Section 4.2(a)(ii) of the October 2023 Executive Order directed BIS to “require companies, individuals, and other organizations or entities that acquire, develop, or possess a potential large-scale computing cluster to report any such acquisition, development, or possession,” as its authority for the proposed rule. BIS had previously released a mandatory survey for companies it had identified as “developing or planning to develop potential dual-use foundation models.” This proposed rule now sets forth further reporting requirements, as well additional details on the rationale for the survey – rationale that could have serious implications for government contractors.
Continue Reading Every Quarter, On the Quarter: BIS Proposes New Reporting Requirements for the Development of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Models and Possession of Large-Scale Computing Clusters