2024-2025 Bid Protest Decisions with Far-Reaching Impacts for Government Contractors
Navigating Bid Protest Choices at GAO and COFC
DE Under 3: U.S. GAO Report on Military Spouse Employment Focused on Challenges of Part-Time Work
A Discussion with GAO General Counsel Edda Emmanuelli Perez
GovCon Perspectives Podcast Episode 24: Effective Use of “Open and Frank” Discussions in Bid Protests
Award Protests: Choosing the Forum
How to Assess the Likelihood of Success in Deciding Whether to Bring a Bid Protest
In Economic Systems, Inc., B-423747, et al. (Aug. 22, 2025), Economic Systems, Inc. (EconSys) protested the Department of the Interior’s decision to issue a sole-source purchase order to Government Retirements and Benefits,...more
On August 7, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council issued a final rule, published in the Federal Register, clarifying that an offeror must be registered in the federal System for Award Management (SAM) when...more
In CAN Softtech Inc. v. United States, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, No. 24-1009C, July 29, 2025, CAN Softtech Inc. (CSI) protested the General Services Administration’s decision to cancel its award for IT support services...more
Emissary LLC, the incumbent contractor, protested the Department of Defense’s Washington Headquarters Services’ award of a contract to Gemini Industries for technical support services to the Office of the Assistant Secretary...more
Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report: Whistleblowers, VA Should Assess Data and Monitor Settlement Agreements to Better Ensure Protections - On July 31, GAO released a report reviewing the characteristics of VA...more
Protesters beware – the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) wants you to know they can and will sanction misuse of Generative Artificial Intelligence (“GenAI” or “AI”). Four recent decisions issued between May and July...more
In TYD Services, B-423648, July 30, 2025, TYD Services, the incumbent contractor, protested the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to award a vehicle leasing contract in Qatar to a competitor, Rahman Group, Inc. TYD was...more
In Addx Corp., B-423633, July 23, 2025, Addx protested the Air Force’s issuance of a task order to KL3 LLC under the OASIS+ small business IDIQ contract. Addx challenged both the evaluation of its proposal and an alleged...more
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup focuses on three recent protests from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The first protest involves an organizational conflict of interest, the second pertains to oral...more
Protest of: BrightPoint, LLC - B-423392, B-423392.2, B-423392.3 - BrightPoint raised numerous challenges to the Department of Agriculture’s evaluation and award of a task order for information technology services....more
In a recent decision highlighting the critical importance of timely proposal submissions in federal procurements, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied a protest by challenging the Navy’s rejection of the...more
In Wright Brothers Aero, Inc., B-423326.2 (July 7, 2025), Wright Brothers Aero protested the Defense Logistics Agency’s (DLA) reaffirmation of a contract award for aircraft refueling services to Premier Jet Services, arguing...more
One of the primary benefits of filing a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is that it automatically puts the awarded contracts on hold, stopping the agency from proceeding with performance. To reap the...more
In SMS Data Products Group, Inc., B-423341, et al. (May 29, 2025), SMS Data Products Group protested a task order award to Abacus Technology Corporation for intranet control support services. While the protest raised several...more
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) generally requires contracting officials to identify and evaluate organizational conflicts of Interest (OCIs) as early as possible in a procurement. The FAR also requires the procuring...more
In DirectViz Solutions, LLC, B-423366, et al. (June 11, 2025), DirectViz Solutions protested the Army’s issuance of a task order to Peraton for cybersecurity information technology support services for the Army’s Global...more
One of the most powerful but often misunderstood tools available to government contractors is the pre-award protest. Unlike post-award protests, which generally challenge the outcome of a procurement, pre-award protests...more
In AIX Tech, LLC, B-423417, et al., June 11, 2025, AIX Tech protested the award by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) of a task order to Defense Solutions Group (DSG) for strategic advisory support services,...more
Timing is everything when it comes to bid protests at GAO. There is a mountain of GAO case law dismissing untimely protests. Contractors must strictly follow GAO’s regulations to avoid that fate and obtain a Competition...more
In KL3, LLC v. United States, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, No. 24-2028 (June 2, 2025, reissued June 12, 2025), KL3 challenged the Department of Defense’s award of two sole-source contracts under the SBA’s 8(a) program,...more
This month’s bid protest spotlight features a trifecta of decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In MVL USA Inc. v. United States, a consolidated bid protest involving seven protesters, the Court rejected...more
Protect Small Business Opportunities: The “Rule of Two” Faces Potential Elimination - The federal government is actively trying to reduce its size and deregulate agencies across the Executive Branch. As noted in a...more
In Innovative Management & Technology Approaches, Inc., B-423190, et al., Mar. 3, 2025, IMTAS protested its exclusion from a competition run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after the agency rejected its proposal...more
The Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) is a successful initiative that increases the participation of small business concerns in federally funded research and development. Awards under Phases I and II of the...more
In Kako’o Spectrum Healthcare Solutions, LLC, B-421127.5, et al., May 28, 2025, Kako’o Spectrum Healthcare Solutions (KSHS) protested the U.S. Marine Corps’ award to Cognito Systems, arguing that Cognito’s proposal exceeded...more