News & Notes – Democratic Convention (Day 3)

The Small Business Administration has extended the comment period for two proposed rules that could dramatically reshape federal government contracting by significantly expanding the pool of entities eligible for small business set-aside procurements. With some size standard thresholds proposed to increase as much as tenfold, these changes would fundamentally alter the makeup of the small business contractor base.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled that the Department of War can exclude Anthropic from its supply chain under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act, finding that the AI company's ability to manipulate its Claude model creates a supply chain risk. This decision contrasts with an earlier California district court ruling that blocked a similar designation under a different statute, creating a complex legal landscape for AI providers and government contractors.

Tennessee's 2026 midterm elections brought unexpected shifts to the state's political landscape, with Marsha Blackburn winning the governorship by the narrowest margin in over a century and Democrats flipping six House seats despite Republican supermajority retention. The results set the stage for significant leadership changes and new policy priorities when the 115th General Assembly convenes in January 2027.

Never. In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Speaker of the House could not exclude a duly-elected candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.

State attorneys general across the nation are taking decisive legal action on multiple fronts, from challenging federal fuel economy rollbacks to pursuing pharmaceutical companies over misleading drug claims. This week's enforcement activities reveal coordinated multistate efforts alongside individual state actions targeting consumer protection, national security concerns, and social media platform accountability.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched MOTUS in May 2026, replacing legacy registration platforms and fundamentally changing how motor carriers, freight brokers, and surface freight forwarders handle operating authority applications and license maintenance. While designed to combat fraud and streamline registration activities, the transition has created significant user experience challenges that threaten operating authority status and customer relationships for transportation service prov

The vast majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana in some way, which has been the case for years now. Whether that general support translates into ballot measure victories and wins for cannabis-friendly candidates, remains to be seen. Below are some notes on our coming elections, from U.S. Senate seats on down.

This comprehensive sanctions update examines the US delisting of Venezuelan politician Jorge Rodriguez amid diplomatic negotiations and energy sector expansion, while tracking global sanctions developments including new US restrictions on Iranian banks, UK measures targeting hostile Iranian activities, EU designations for sanctions circumvention, and China's proposed export controls on advanced technologies.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has preliminarily enjoined the Department of War from enforcing WuXi AppTec's Section 1260H designation, finding the agency misread its evidence on state and military affiliation. However, this ruling does not close alternative pathways to biotechnology company of concern (BCC) designation under the BIOSECURE Act, and earlier supply-chain restrictions continue to drive near-term compliance decisions with a critical June 30, 2027 deadline for sub-tier supp

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has implemented sweeping changes to Cuba sanctions, introducing a new regulatory framework that extends restrictions beyond U.S. persons to foreign entities and financial institutions. These measures eliminate key banking authorizations, expand transaction prohibitions to include intermediary payments, and significantly narrow travel permissions, creating new compliance challenges for businesses operating in or through Cuba-related channels.