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No Fun(ding): GAO, Courts, and Boards Describe Operations During Government Shutdown

Client Alert | 1 min read | 10.01.13

On October 1, the federal government officially "shut down" operations (discussed here), and for contractors appearing before various forums, the impacts will vary: the GAO is closed during the shutdown and any deadline for a private party that falls on a day it is closed will be extended to the first day that GAO resumes operations (although filings can still be made electronically); the ASBCA and the CBCA will remain open for the purpose of accepting filings from parties and the CBCA has explicitly stated that it will not waive or toll any statutory time limits; the Court of Federal Claims "will continue to hear and decide cases without interruption"; and the Federal Circuit will remain open for normal business through at least October 11.


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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....

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