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As discussed in our March 30, 2026, client alert, Déjà Vu: New Executive Order Outlines Restrictions on Contractor and Subcontractor DEI Activity, President Trump issued Executive Order 14398 (EO 14398), Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors, on March 26, 2026. The EO declared DEI activities “unethical and often illegal,” required a new mandatory contract clause for federal contracts and subcontracts, and directed the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to issue an implementing deviation. That deviation has now arrived. At the same time, a coalition of higher education and government contractor associations has filed suit seeking to block the underlying executive order.

Continue Reading FAR Council Issues Deviation Implementing EO 14398 With FAR 52.222-90 — DEI Restrictions on Federal Contractors
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In Danziger et al. v. U.S., No. 25-cv-1241 (Fed. Cl. Apr. 10, 2026) (a Crowell & Moring case), the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) denied the government’s motion to dismiss a complaint seeking breach of contract damages for improper terminations in bad faith and/or abuse of discretion.

Continue Reading COFC Holds that USAID Contractors Properly Pleaded Breach of Contract by Improper Mass Termination in Bad Faith/Abuse of Discretion
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In a significant decision for government contractors, on April 15, 2026, in Life Science Logistics, LLC v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that bid protesters challenging an agency’s override of an automatic stay of contract performance under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) need not satisfy the demanding four-factor test traditionally required for preliminary injunctive relief.  In so doing, the Federal Circuit clarified that CICA stay override challenges need only demonstrate that the override decision was arbitrary and capricious—nothing more.

Continue Reading Federal Circuit Holds Challengers to CICA Stay Overrides Need Not Satisfy Four-Factor Injunctive Relief Test
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On April 13, 2026, President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act of 2026 (S. 3971) (the Act), extending the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs through September 30, 2031. The legislation cleared the U.S. Senate on March 3, 2026 and then was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 17, 2026 after a six-month interruption in program authority that halted the issuance of new awards across federal agencies. The programs’ previous authorization expired on September 30, 2025.

Continue Reading SBIR/STTR Programs Reauthorized After Six-Month Lapse
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Introduction

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) continues to advance its modernization agenda. On April 8, 2026, FedRAMP released RFC-0031, Updated Incident Communications Procedures for public comment. This RFC proposes replacing the current FedRAMP Incident Communications Procedures (ICP) with what FedRAMP calls “a clear set of reporting requirements … established using a modern rules-based format.” 

Below is a summary of key changes proposed in RFC-0031.    

Continue Reading FedRAMP Solicits Public Comment on Overhaul to Incident Communications Procedures
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The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  In this series, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice keeps you up to date with a summary of one of the most notable bid protest sustain decisions each month.  Below, Crowell Consultant (and former GAO Bid Protest Hearing Officer) Cherie Owen discusses GAO’s decision in Morrish-Wallace Construction d/b/a Ryba Marine Construction Co., where a company’s failure to acknowledge a solicitation amendment proved fatal to its bid. 

Continue Reading February 2026 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month: GAO Finds Failure to Acknowledge IFB Amendment Was Fatal
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On March 31, 2026, the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued Memorandum M-26-10 titled, “Reinforcing Transparency, Accountability, and Oversight of Federal Technology,” (Memorandum) containing a new policy designed to reinforce oversight, transparency, and accountability across federal technology programs, increase accountability for agency chief information officers (CIOs), and enhance information sharing among government agencies.  OMB issued the policy in furtherance of several executive orders (EOs) issued by President Trump, including: EO 13833, “Enhancing the Effectiveness of Agency Chief Information Officers,” EO 14240, “Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement,” and EO 14243, “Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos.”  

Continue Reading OMB Issues New Policy on Federal IT Transparency and Acquisition Oversight
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This week’s episode covers the March 26 Executive Order titled “Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors” and the March 31 OMB Memo titled “Reinforcing Transparency, Accountability, and Oversight of Federal Technology”, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.

Click below to listen or access from one of these links:

PodBean | SoundCloud | iTunes

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On March 26, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) titled Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors. The EO declares diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) “activities” “unethical and often illegal,” and imposes new obligations on federal contractors and subcontractors related to DEI programming. Contractors that do business with the federal government — or that work as subcontractors for companies that do — should review the EO closely to determine the extent to which they are compliant with the new requirements.

Continue Reading Déjà Vu? New Executive Order Outlines Restrictions on Contractor and Subcontractor DEI Activity
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Crowell & Moring’s “All Things Protest” podcast keeps you up to date on major trends in bid protest litigation, key developments in high-profile cases, and best practices in state and federal procurement. In this episode, Crowell’s Christian Curran, Zachary Schroeder, and Bryan Dewan discuss challenges contractors face when protesting agency evaluations of proposals, along with tips for identifying viable protest arguments.

Click below to listen or access from one of these links:

PodBean | SoundCloud | Apple Podcasts