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DOJ's Procurement Collusion Strike Force Amps Up Its Enforcement Ranks

Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.13.20

Just days after the anniversary of its launch, the Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force has expanded its ranks to include 11 new national partners. The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, as well as nine additional U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, have joined the government’s effort to combat collusion, fraud, and antitrust crimes in the public procurement process. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim promised “even more success” for the PCSF in the coming year “[b]y growing [its] national footprint, and folding in additional subject-matter experts.” The PCSF currently has more than 360 agent, analyst, and other law enforcement and OIG working members, hailing from 46 unique agencies and offices at the federal, state, and local levels.

This expansion – on top of news that DOJ has appointed Daniel Glad, former assistant chief of the Chicago field office, as the PCSF’s first permanent director – underscores the Antitrust Division’s continued focus on potential antitrust violations involving public procurement and the increased importance of enlisting counsel experienced in both antitrust and government contracts.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future....