As we reported previously, President Trump’s January 21 Executive Order (EO) 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” terminated certain affirmative action requirements applicable to government contracts and federally-funded construction contracts. The EO also mandates that new provisions be included in all government contracts and all grants, certifying that counterparties do
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC Blogs
Latest from Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Additional Grant Pauses – Trump Administration Seeks to Maximize the Power of the Purse
In addition to the Trump administration’s general freeze on most grant funding, which was rescinded as well as enjoined by federal district courts in Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., the new administration yesterday took steps to halt funding to organizations and governmental entities that fail to comply with immigration and Education Amendments Act requirements.…
Register Now | Managing Forced Labor and Other Supply Chain Compliance Challenges Webinar

As global supply chains continue to expand, it is essential to understand the legal, compliance, and practical challenges that arise. Forced labor, economic sanctions, corruption, and other risks can be significant, especially when relying on suppliers in China and the developing world. The early actions of the new Trump administration, and the responses from trading…
Bid Protest Minute: Understanding the Increased DoD/Coast Guard/NASA Task Order Protest Threshold
Generally speaking, the U.S. procurement system allows companies competing for U.S. government contracts broad rights to challenge contract awards, as well as the terms of solicitations. There are, however, restrictions applicable to challenging task orders awarded under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts that limit where such challenges may be filed and prohibit challenges below a certain threshold. Congress…
President Trump’s Shake-Up of Federal Enforcement Agencies Continues with Big Changes to the EEOC
Last week, as part of a major shake-up of the federal government’s enforcement agencies, President Trump made three major changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), all of which will cause a major shift in the political leanings of the EEOC. One of those changes, the firing of EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride, was…
SBA Final Rule Updates Negative Control Requirements and 8(a) Ownership Rule
On December 17, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published its final rule detailing new recertification requirements following mergers and acquisitions (M&A), new language around negative control for affiliation purposes, and changes to 8(a) ownership percentages, among other changes. We discussed the new recertification requirements and their potential impact on GovCon M&A in a previous blog…
President Trump Makes Two Big Changes to NLRB – One Expected, One Unprecedented
Update (February 3, 2025): On February 1, President Trump fired Acting General Counsel Jessica Rutter. At this time, it is unclear who will serve as Acting General Counsel or who President Trump will ultimately appoint as General Counsel of the NLRB. We will closely monitor and report on further developments.
Late Monday night, President Trump…
Trump Administration Rescinds Freeze on Federal Financial Assistance (Or Does It)?
After an immediate, severe backlash against OMB’s January 27 memo ordering a freeze on almost all federal financial assistance, as well as legal action that led to a January 28 temporary restraining order issued by the D.C. District Court minutes before the freeze was to go into effect, the Trump administration has now rescinded that…
Key Changes to Federal Contract and Grant Rules: What Government Contractors and Grant Recipients Need to Know About Trump’s First Week
UPDATE (January 29, 2026): On January 28, Law360 reported that the D.C. District Court issued a temporary restraining order enjoining OMB’s directive to freeze federal financial assistance. We will closely monitor and report on further developments.
The first seven days of the Trump administration have brought new meaning to the saying that the only constant…