Judge Says Trump Administration Must Comply With Order to Restore Foreign Aid Funding, What It Means for Government Contractors
As PilieroMazza recently discussed , on February 13, 2025, Judge Amir H. Ali, of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) requiring the Trump administration to restore funding for foreign assistance awards halted as a result of recent executive and agency actions. On February 20, 2025, Judge Ali partially granted a motion to enforce the TRO, criticizing the government for continuing its blanket suspension pending review of foreign assistance agreements—which is the very action the TRO . . . Read More
DEI Executive Orders Partially Blocked: What’s In and What’s Out, For Now . . .
On February 21, 2025, a federal court [1] preliminarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing key provisions of the recent executive orders (EOs) to eliminate “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives from the federal government and federal contractors. The court found the provisions to be unconstitutionally vague and likely to infringe on free speech. This PilieroMazza client alert outlines the current status of the EOs and potential impacts on federal contractors. EOs 14151 and 14173 , issued by the Trump administration . . . Read More
UPDATE: President Trump’s Executive Orders Impose Tariffs on Products from Canada, Mexico, and China: The Cost to Government Contractors
PilieroMazza recently published a client alert (linked here ) regarding three executive orders issued on February 1, 2025, imposing additional tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico, and China that were to be effective February 4, 2025. This client alert provides an update on these tariffs as well as tariffs on steel and aluminum and reciprocal tariffs that were announced last week. To summarize, products from Canada and Mexico were set to be subject to 25% tariffs, except for “energy or energy resources” . . . Read More
Federal Judge Orders USAID and Foreign Aid Funding to be Restored
On January 20, 2025, the President issued Executive Order Number 14169 (Executive Order), which imposed a 90-day pause on new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds to foreign countries and implementing non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors pending reviews of such programs. Similarly, in furtherance of the Executive Order, on January 24, 2025, the Secretary of State issued a Memorandum ordering a pause on all new obligations of foreign assistance funding pending an 85-day review of United States foreign assistance programs. The Secretary additionally . . . Read More
Federal Judge Clarifies Scope of TRO Enjoining Federal Spending Freeze
As we recently outlined , on January 31, 2025, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) that blocks the federal funding freeze outlined in the now-rescinded January 27, 2025, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive (Directive). In the Order, the Court ruled that the Defendants (including the President, OMB, and numerous federal agencies) are prohibited from reissuing, adopting, implementing, or otherwise giving effect to the OMB Directive under any other name or title or through any other . . . Read More
Proposed Rule on Organizational Conflicts of Interest Signals Significant Changes for Contractors
Organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) should be front of mind for any federal government contractor. The mere presence of an OCI may cause contractors to reconsider which contracting opportunities to pursue, reshape teaming and subcontracting arrangements, and revise mitigation policies, procedures, and plans in ways that impact company-wide systems and processes. Most significantly, an OCI may be enough for the government to strip a contractor of an award it just won. Recently, the government published a proposed rule ( Proposed Rule ), . . . Read More
FCA Settlement Highlights Importance of Accurate Small Business Certifications in Government Contracting
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a $949,696.90 False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with GS Foods Group Inc. (GS Foods) for improperly bidding on contracts reserved for small businesses despite not qualifying as a small business. The DOJ settlement underscores the critical need for accurate small business representations and certifications in government contracting. Visit this link to register for our webinar, “PilieroMazza Annual Review: What DOJ’s 2024 FCA Report Means for Government Contractors” and check out our podcast Ex Rel. Radio . Briefly, the . . . Read More
PilieroMazza Annual Review: What DOJ’s 2024 FCA Report Means for Government Contractors
On January 15, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released its annual fraud statistics report ( Annual Report ) detailing settlements and judgments obtained under the False Claims Act (FCA) and other fraud matters during Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 2024), which ended September 30, 2024. During FY 2024, the government recovered $2,920,738,612, a 4.8% increase compared to FY 2023. 2024 also saw a landmark ruling from a federal trial court that the qui tam provisions of the FCA are unconstitutional. Below are key . . . Read More
Federal Spending Freeze and Executive Orders Blocked by Federal Judge: What Contractors Need to Know
As we recently noted , President Trump has issued a flurry of Executive Orders (EO) since he took office. Among other things, President Trump has sought to eliminate DEI and affirmative action-based programs and has put a 90-day pause on all foreign development assistance funding. More sweepingly, on January 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a directive (Directive) requiring agencies to pause all funding for federal financial assistance and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated . . . Read More
President Trump’s Executive Orders Impose Tariffs on Products from Canada, Mexico, and China: The Cost to Government Contractors
On February 1, 2025, President Trump issued 3 executive orders imposing additional tariffs on products from Canada , Mexico, and China, effective February 4, 2025. The tariffs on Canadian and Chinese products will go into effect on February 4, 2025. Pursuant to an agreement reached between Mexico and the U.S. on February 3, 2025, the tariffs on Mexican products will be delayed for a month. This client alert identifies key takeaways from the executive orders and provides important considerations for government . . . Read More