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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WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 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

How Competitive Is Your Pay? Last Call To Take Our Survey

Is your compensation keeping pace with the rate of inflation? Do you know what your colleagues made last year? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's Law Firm Compensation Survey.

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Simpson Thacher Caused 'Chaos' With Deal, Jury Hears

By Cara Salvatore

The former chief financial officer of Patriot National Inc. testified to a Florida jury on Tuesday that "chaos" broke loose as funds that Simpson Thacher helped steward for the insurance services company hit public markets and executives found out that its terms differed from their understanding of them.

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Dems Press Skadden On Trump Pro Bono Pact, Intel Deal Work

By Lauren Berg

A group of Democrats demanded Tuesday that Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration in light of allegations the firm advised both Intel Corp. and the U.S. Department of Commerce when the administration received a 10% company stake.

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Blanche Denies Conflict With Family's Firearms Company

By Courtney Bublé

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has close ties through his wife's family to a gun manufacturer that does federal contracting, but he told senators in questions following his confirmation hearing there is no conflict of interest, despite his service on a Justice Department task force aimed at rolling back gun control initiatives around the country.

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Trump, DOJ Sued For Firing Court-Appointed Seattle US Atty

By Bonnie Eslinger

Roger Rogoff, a former Washington state judge who was sworn in as Seattle's new U.S. attorney last week and then swiftly fired by the Trump administration, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice, saying their "attempt to fire him cannot stand."

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Reagan-Appointed NC Federal Judge To Take Senior Status

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Terrence William Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina plans to take senior status — a form of semi-retirement that gives federal judges a reduced caseload — at a date yet to be determined, according to a recent update from the federal judiciary.

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Senate Confirms Trade Court Pick Despite Past GOP Posts

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 50-48 Tuesday evening to confirm Kara Westercamp, associate counsel to the president, to the U.S. Court of International Trade, who said during her confirmation in March she regretted her past social media posts critical of Republicans, including Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and the late Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

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Bronx Public Defenders Set Strike Deadline

By Emily Sawicki

More than 300 unionized workers at legal aid organization The Bronx Defenders are set to walk out on July 27 if they cannot agree on a contract with the legal nonprofit's management, according to a Tuesday announcement.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Amazon.com Inc.

American Bar Association

Brooklyn Defender Services

Earthjustice

Intel Corp.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

LinkedIn Corp.

Lockheed Martin Corp.

Microsoft Corp.

National Rifle Association of America

Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem

Patriot National Inc.

The Bronx Defenders

Twitter Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arnold & Porter

Ashurst Perkins

Bowditch & Dewey

Bradley Arant

Burns Charest

Conrad & Scherer

Cozen O'Connor

Faegre Drinker

HKM Employment Attorneys

Jenner & Block

Munger Tolles

Ogletree Deakins

Reid & Wise

Rogers Joseph O'Donnell

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Skadden Arps

Stearns Weaver

Susman Godfrey

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Judicial Center

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 for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Justice

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 Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

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

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

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget