The Trump administration continued to focus on increasing efficiency in government contracting, among other policy aims.
Last week, President Trump issued several executive orders in furtherance of his policy aims, including orders relating to increasing efficiency in the government contracting process, assessing the impact of importation of critical minerals on national security, investigating how to reduce prescription drug prices, and changing the way the government evaluates environmental permits. Meanwhile, the tariff landscape continued to evolve, and California brought a legal challenge to the administration’s tariff policy.
Latham lawyers are carefully monitoring the rollout of President Trump’s policy priorities through executive orders, agency actions, and installment of new personnel. Below is a high-level overview of these actions, broken down by topic, along with updates on related court challenges, personnel changes, and other breaking developments in their implementation.
Government Contracting
Several recent executive orders lay out the administration’s plans to increase efficiency in federal contracting.
- An April 9 executive order plans to streamline the defense acquisition process and workforce. This involves emphasizing the use of alternate acquisition methods like Other Transactions Authority (OTA) agreements not subject to certain regulations and allowing greater flexibility in contracting terms. The order also requires review within 90 days of all Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs). Any MDAP that is found to be behind schedule under certain terms will be considered for cancellation. Contractors should prepare for increasing use of alternative methods of contracting and to address concerns from government officials about MDAPs that fall behind schedule. To learn more details, see this blog post.
- An April 15 executive order aims to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to remove provisions that, according to the administration, inhibit “simplicity and usability” in federal contracting. Each agency will play a role in reviewing applicable FAR provisions. The administration plans to identify and consider the sunset of FAR provisions not required by statute.
- An April 16 executive order increases scrutiny of agency solicitations for custom-developed products or services. In part, the order requires review in the next 60 days of all open agency solicitations for custom-developed products or services and for each agency to submit a proposed application justifying the need for a custom solution.
Energy and Environment
On April 15, the President announced via executive order that the administration will seek to increase use of technology to more efficiently evaluate environmental permits. The order states that agencies should eliminate paper applications, reduce the length of permit application documents, reduce repetitiveness of data submission requirements, ensure adequate legal support for defending challenged environmental documents and permit decisions, and more. The Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality is instructed to submit within 45 days a plan for automating low-level reviews, unifying interagency reviews, implementing an interagency governance structure to oversee implementation of such plan, and more. The order also establishes an interagency Permitting Innovation Center to develop tools to further the goals of the order.
A number of recent executive orders have related to the US supply of critical minerals and energy policy more broadly.
- On April 15, President Trump issued an executive order instructing agencies to determine whether the importation of minerals critical to production of energy and goods is affecting national security. The investigation will involve looking into the amount of critical minerals imported from different countries and assessing relevant risks posed by global supply chains. It will also involve analyzing capability of US-based production of such critical minerals.
To learn about President Trump’s use of the emergency provision of the Federal Power Act, see this blog post. To learn about President Trump’s direction for the Attorney General to stop enforcement of certain state and local energy-related laws, see this blog post.
Trade and Tariffs
On April 17, President Trump indicated that negotiations are occurring between the US and China regarding tariffs. As of April 17, most goods entering the US from China are subject to a 145% tariff, while tariffs on certain items (including electric vehicles) imported to the US from China are up to 245%, according to this fact sheet.
Meanwhile, an April 11 executive order clarifies what products qualify as “semiconductors” and are thus exempt from the ad valorem rates of duty under this executive order, which announced exemptions from reciprocal import tariffs.
Finally, California sued the Trump administration this week, arguing that the tariffs are unlawful because they require approval by Congress.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
According to press reports regarding an April 16 memo to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) staff, the agency will decrease supervisory exams by 50%; shift its focus away from non-depository institutions to depositary institutions; focus less on “imposing penalties on companies” and more on returning money to consumers; deprioritize focus on medical debt, student loans, consumer data, and other categories; and more. For more on recent related developments, see this blog post.
Healthcare
An April 15 executive order instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to propose and seek comment on guidance for drug pricing under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, including proposals relating to the manufacturer effectuation of the maximum fair price for 2026, 2027, and 2028. Additionally, the order instructs a team including the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy to evaluate how to reduce Medicare Part D premiums and calls for the development of a plan to test a new payment method to ensure better value for high-cost prescription drugs under the Medicare program.
Other parts of the order relate to investigating the shift from medical spending at physician offices to hospital outpatient settings; interagency coordination to “reduce anti-competitive behavior from pharmaceutical manufacturers”; and facilitating approval for states to import prescription drugs at lower prices.
Federal Workforce
An April 17 executive order extends the freeze on hiring of civilian employees to all executive branch departments and agencies through July 15, 2025.
An April 15 executive order revokes executive orders by Presidents Carter and Clinton that prioritized locating federal offices in central business districts, including in historic properties in such areas. The order aims to allow federal offices to relocate to more cost-effective facilities.
