Government Contracts Regulatory Compliance

The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report on the Defense Contract Audit Agency’s (“DCAA”) past and future use of private-sector, independent public accountants to augment its auditor workforce. The initiative—approved under Section 803 of the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”)—began in fiscal year 2020 and was originally envisioned by Congress as a tool to reduce DCAA’s backlog of incurred cost audits. But, as GAO noted, DCAA had largely eliminated its audit backlog by the end of FY 2018, primarily through its reliance on risk-based sampling methodology, which reduced the number of audits DCAA was required to complete.

Continue Reading GAO: DCAA Built a Valuable Bench of Independent Public Accountants, Now What?

Last Monday, April 28, 2025, the House passed a bill titled Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (“ROUTERS”) Act (H.R. 866), which directs the Secretary of Commerce to study national security risks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities “posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices that combine a modem and router, that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the influence of a covered country.”  Similar to some other recent supply chain requirements imposed on federal contractors, the bill defines “covered countries” by reference to 10 U.S.C. 4872, which prohibits the acquisition of sensitive materials from North Korea, Russia, Iran, and China.

Continue Reading ROUTERS Act on the Horizon: U.S. House Passes New Legislation

On Friday, May 2, the U.S. government announced further steps in its much-discussed plan to re-write the FAR by establishing a “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (“RFO”) website on Acquisition.gov, issuing written guidance to federal agencies, and releasing proposed revisions to FAR Part 1 – Federal Acquisition Regulation System and Part 34 – Major System Acquisition.  This activity comes on the heels of recent presidential directives requiring agencies to examine and reform their approach to procurement of goods and services, including Executive Order (“E.O.”) 14275, “Restoring Common Sense To Federal Procurement,” and E.O. 14271, “Ensuring Commercial, Cost-Effective Solutions in Federal Contracts.”

As anticipated, the FAR re-write is spearheaded by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) within the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”).  The RFO website proclaims that the re-write is “the first-ever comprehensive overhaul of the FAR” and aims to “return the FAR to its statutory roots, rewritten in plain language, and remove most non-statutory rules.”  It also will result in “non-regulatory buying guides [to] provide practical strategies grounded in common sense while remaining outside the FAR.”  In short, the goal is characterized as “faster acquisitions, greater competition, and better results.”

Continue Reading Early Signs of Progress in the “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul”

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…

Continue Reading The Executive Order 11246 Grace Period Ends Today (April 21)

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 Trump’s goal of catalyzing innovation and economic growth by reducing regulatory burdens, both in general and in the energy industry specifically.

We briefly summarize below the six April 9 executive actions most likely to impact government contractors.

Continue Reading New Executive Actions Address the Defense Acquisition System, U.S. Maritime Industries, Foreign Military Sales, and “Unlawful” Regulations

Updated as of April 30, 2025

Over the first one-hundred days of the second Trump Administration, Covington’s Government Contracts Practice has tracked the latest developments related to recent executive actions most relevant to federal contractors and grantees.  This April edition of our key developments timeline provides a targeted overview of…

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions: April Edition

During his first two months in office, President Trump has taken numerous executive actions likely to impact federal government contractors and grant recipients.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This timeline provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this timeline was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of April 2, 2025

On March 29, United States embassies across Europe began sending letters and an accompanying “Certification regarding compliance with applicable federal anti-discrimination law” to companies in Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain.  This certification purports to apply Executive Order (“EO”) 14173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”) to U.S. government suppliers and contractors based in Europe “regardless of their nationality and the country in which they operate.”  As we wrote in a prior alert, the Trump administration intends for EO 14173 to end what it considers to be “illegal preferences and discrimination” including those “under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA)” programs by prescribing required provisions for federal contracts. 

Continue Reading European Companies Wrestle with U.S. Government’s Anti-DEI Push

During his first two months in office, President Trump has taken numerous executive actions likely to impact federal government contractors and grant recipients.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This timeline provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this timeline was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of March 26, 2025

During his first eight weeks in office, President Trump has taken numerous executive actions likely to impact federal government contractors and grant recipients.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This timeline provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this timeline was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of March 19, 2025