Executive Orders

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On January 7, 2026, President Trump issued a new executive order, “Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting” (the “EO”), which states that “[a]fter years of misplaced priorities, traditional defense contractors have been incentivized to prioritize investor returns over the Nation’s warfighters.” The EO aims to realign these priorities by restricting defense contractors deemed “underperforming” from engaging in stock buybacks and paying shareholder dividends “at the expense of accelerated procurement and increased production capacity.” It also directs rapid review, remediation, and enforcement measures it hopes will accelerate production and prioritize warfighter needs. Below we provide an overview of the EO, and outline key takeaways, and enforcement risks for potentially affected contractors.Continue Reading New Executive Order Bars “Underperforming” Defense Contractors from Stock Buybacks and Shareholder Dividends—What Contractors Need to Know Now

On June 6, 2025, the Trump Administration released a new Executive Order (“EO”) on cybersecurity, Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation’s Cybersecurity and Amending Executive Order 13694 and Executive Order 14144.[1] The Executive Order itself will not impose new obligations on agencies; instead, it strikes, amends, and updates certain provisions in prior Executive Orders from the Obama and Biden Administrations that have not been rescinded.Continue Reading Trump’s New Cybersecurity Executive Order: What Contractors Need to Know

The Trump Administration Executive Orders related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”), Executive Order 14170 (Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service) and Executive Order 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity) (the “EOs”), have given businesses and other organizations (including universities) much to think about regarding their DEI initiatives. This includes entities that do business with the federal government, entities that do business with state and local governments, and entities with operations outside the United States. As the landscape continues to shift, below are four issues every organization should consider as they perform their DEI reviews:Continue Reading How Far Do They Reach? Four Issues Entities Should Consider When Analyzing the Trump Administration Executive Orders Related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

On January 20 and 21, 2025, President Trump signed two executive orders focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs: EO 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and EO 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit‐Based Opportunity” (the “EOs”). You can read more about the content of these EOs here. While the EOs have broad ranging impacts on federal contractors in a number of areas, this blog focuses on the potential impacts specific to small businesses generally and to large businesses via small business subcontracting. Continue Reading Trump DEI Executive Orders – Impacts on Small Businesses and Small Business Subcontracting

In Part 1 of our blog series, we outlined the Trump Administration’s new Executive Orders (“EOs”) on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (“DEI”) and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (“DEIA”) programs, and the current legal status of those EOs. In this second part, we provide several observations on what actions federal contractors and grant recipients might want to consider taking in response to these EOs to ensure compliance and mitigate risks.Continue Reading What Should Contractors and Grant Recipients do in Response to the DEI Executive Orders?

The first 100 days of President Trump’s second term have been action-packed with the President issuing 43 Executive Orders within hours of his inauguration – and an additional 46 that soon followed. Two Executive Orders in particular – Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferences,” and Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” – have received significant attention. These Orders mark a significant shift from prior administrations, and aim to redefine the role of DEI not only within the Federal Government, but also within the private sector. What follows is a brief overview of these Orders and how they likely affect – or will affect –businesses.Continue Reading The Trump Administration’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Executive Orders: A Brief Primer

Update: On February 22, Maryland District Court Judge Adam Abelson issued a Preliminary Injunction halting the rollout and enforcement of the several provisions in the EO. Relevant here, the PI prohibits the Federal Government from requiring any contractor or grantee to make any certification required by the EO; and prohibits the Federal Government from bringing any False Claims Act enforcement action, or other enforcement action, in connection with either the proposed certification or the nine federal investigations to be proposed by each federal agency. The 63-page opinion addressed both First and Fifth Amendment implications of the EO relying, in part, on the vagueness concerns noted below. This is not a final decision on the merits, and the likelihood of additional litigation, included appeals, as well as additional actions by the Administration is highly likely.Continue Reading The Squeeze is the Juice – Utilization of The False Claims Act in the DEI/Government Contracting Executive Order 

Important Update: On January 28, 2025 the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted an Administrative Stay enjoining OMB from enforcing OMB Memorandum M-25-13 until the Court can hear full arguments, scheduled for February 3. We continue to monitor developments.Continue Reading ALERT: Trump Administration Issues “Pause” on Federal Grant Spending Effective January 28

On October 30, 2023, the White House issued an Executive Order focusing on safe, secure and trustworthy AI and laying out a national policy on AI. In stark contrast to the EU, which through the soon to be enacted AI Act is focused primarily on regulating uses of AI that are unacceptable or high risk, the Executive Order focuses on responsible use of AI as well as developers, the data they use and the tools they create. The goal is to ensure that AI systems used by government and the private sector are safe, secure, and trustworthy. The Executive Order seeks to enhance federal government use and deployment of AI, including to improve cybersecurity and U.S. defenses, and to promote innovation and competition to allow the U.S. to maintain its position as a global leader on AI issues. It also emphasizes the importance of protections for various groups including consumers, patients, students, workers and kids.Continue Reading Flash Briefing on White House Executive Order on AI Regulation and Policy