The Trump administration made several policy moves affecting contractors this year, including throwing out long-standing regulations for determining small businesses' eligibility for a business development program and directing agencies to bar contractors from engaging in DEI activities. Here, Law360 examines significant policy changes from the first half of 2026 affecting government contractors.
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THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Analysis

Top Gov't Contracting Policies Of 2026: Midyear Report

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Trump administration made several policy moves affecting contractors this year, including throwing out long-standing regulations for determining small businesses' eligibility for a business development program and directing agencies to bar contractors from engaging in DEI activities. Here, Law360 examines significant policy changes from the first half of 2026 affecting government contractors.

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Guam Group Says Air Force Can't Skip Review Of Detonations

By Tom Lotshaw

A nonprofit in Guam asked the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a ruling that the U.S. Air Force shirked environmental review duties when it applied to renew a permit to detonate expired munitions, as well as reject the agency's attempts to avoid them.

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FCC Launches 1st Foreign Drone Enforcement Action

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that it has launched the first action to revoke authorizations from a company for allegedly trying to get around a blanket ban on foreign-made drones.

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NATIONAL SECURITY

Jordan Secures 10% Forced Labor Tariff Rate With US Deal

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. and Jordan signed a trade agreement Tuesday that would lower non-tariff trade barriers on U.S. exports in exchange for a U.S. commitment to impose a 10% tariff rate on imports from the kingdom when new duties to address goods produced with forced labor take effect.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Sen. Warner Unveils 4-Part AI Guardrail Package

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., proposed legislation Tuesday that would create guardrails on artificial intelligence and impose disclosure requirements on data centers' demands on power and water infrastructure and effects on the environment.

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LITIGATION

Lockheed Can't Use EEOC Charge To Narrow Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Lockheed Martin can't trim a lawsuit alleging it refused to give a worker the same opportunities offered to other employees because he is African and Muslim, a Texas federal judge ruled, concluding he wasn't required to use specific language in a pre-suit bias charge to preserve certain claims.

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Submarine Maker Sinks Disability Bias Suit Over Remote Work

By Patrick Hoff

General Dynamics' submarine subsidiary Electric Boat Corp. defeated a former employee's lawsuit alleging the company refused to let him work from home because of serious health conditions, with a Connecticut federal judge ruling Tuesday he hadn't shown he was able to work when he was let go.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Navigating OFAC's 50% Rule For Cross-Border Exec Mobility

A recent Office of Foreign Assets Control guide signals that its 50% ownership rule can determine not only sanctions compliance but also whether a company can sponsor multinational executives for immigration, highlighting an often overlooked interaction between sanctions and immigration law, says Xuan Zhang at Reid & Wise.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Holland & Knight Hit With $1.2B Malpractice Suit

By Madison Arnold

A real estate firm is accusing Holland & Knight LLP and three attorneys of malpractice in a new complaint filed in Florida state court and is seeking up to $1.2 billion in damages after more than 30 states opened investigations into the company's practices.

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Co. Turned Away Simpson Thacher's Deal Meeting, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A retired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handled the fundraising round alleged to have destroyed Patriot National Inc. testified in a Florida state malpractice trial Wednesday that the insurance services company waved off his attempt to present details to the board.

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Brief

Pillsbury Data Breach Suit Voluntarily Dismissed

By Matt Perez

A proposed class action against Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP over a data breach last year has been voluntarily dismissed by the named plaintiffs, following a granted motion to stay in April to discuss mediation.

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DLA Piper Says Deception, Not Bias, Cost Palestinian Atty Job

By Grace Elletson

DLA Piper urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a Palestinian attorney's suit claiming the firm revoked a job offer out of discrimination, arguing it rescinded the offer because she concealed allegations that she assaulted someone at a protest.

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DC Bar Leaders Say DOJ Ethics Suit Encourages Misconduct

By Emily Sawicki

Washington, D.C., attorney regulators continue to garner support in their effort to toss a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged "weaponizing" of executive branch lawyer discipline, with D.C. bar organizations, scores of legal scholars and more than 500 former DOJ attorneys backing the disciplinary authorities.

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Mich. Gets Judge With Blue Slips In 1st For Trump Admin

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 on Wednesday to confirm Michael Martin, a longtime federal prosecutor, to the Eastern District of Michigan and Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to the Sixth Circuit.

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DOL IG Says Info-Sharing Pacts Lacked Safeguards

By Irene Spezzamonte

U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito testified Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee that during the Biden administration, the department shared confidential information with plaintiffs' attorneys without notifying the Wage and Hour Division or the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

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Gov't Attys May Face Broader Duty To Report Misconduct

By Alison Knezevich

Attorneys representing the government could face "more demanding" obligations to disclose misconduct by people within their client organizations than attorneys representing private entities, according to an ethics opinion issued Wednesday by the American Bar Association.

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Retired Judges Rip Bid To Ban Foreign-Born Federal Judges

By Courtney Bublé

A group of 58 retired federal judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, on Wednesday came out strongly against recent proposals from Republican lawmakers that would require federal judges to be natural-born U.S. citizens and relinquish any citizenship that is not of the United States.

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US Marshals Can't Make Immigration Arrests In DC Court

By Rae Ann Varona

A D.C. federal judge Wednesday refused to toss a lawsuit from a certified class of immigrants challenging immigration arrests by U.S. marshals in D.C. Superior Court, declaring that the marshals lack authority and necessary training for the arrests.

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Securities Class Action Deals On Target To Hit 6-Year High

By Katryna Perera

The value of class action settlements is on track to reach a six-year high of $4.4 billion, fueled in part by a handful of "mega settlements" and other high-dollar deals, a Cornerstone Research report released Wednesday said. 

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Bar Association

Earthjustice

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lockheed Martin Corp.

Patriot National Inc.

The District of Columbia Bar

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

AXS Law Group

Arnold & Porter

Ashbrook Byrne

Bowditch & Dewey

Bradley Arant

Burns Charest

Carella Byrne

Conrad & Scherer

Cooley LLP

Cozen O'Connor

DLA Piper

Faegre Drinker

Holland & Knight

Jones Day

Meritz Reddy

Milberg PLLC

Ogletree Deakins

Pillsbury Winthrop

Reid & Wise

Rogers Joseph O'Donnell

Seyfarth Shaw

Shook Hardy

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Stearns Weaver

Williams & Connolly

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Employee Benefits Security Administration

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Trade Commission

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Small Business Administration

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget

Wage and Hour Division