GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (1/26–30)

This week's Weekly Debrief covers the partial government shutdown, space contracting, federal program fraud, and SBA's 8(a) program suspensions.

Shutdown

CBS News – What to know about the partial government shutdown as funding lapses for many agencies

• "Funding for many federal agencies expired at 12 a.m. on Saturday after Congress failed to pass half a dozen spending bills before the deadline, prompting a partial government shutdown. The funding lapse comes despite the Senate voting late Friday to approve a five-bill package and extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, which had been the sticking point in the upper chamber. The deal struck between Senate Democrats and the White House still needs to be approved by the House, which is set to return to Washington on Monday."

GovExec – White House initiates shutdown process as Congress hopes to keep duration minimal

• "The Senate on Friday evening approved a spending package that ensures nearly all agencies are funding through fiscal 2026, but the agreement came too late to stave off an appropriations lapse."

Space

SpaceNews – L3Harris reaffirms commitment to space business amid missile sector expansion

• "The Pentagon’s $1 billion investment in  L3Harris Technologies’ missile business has turned a spotlight on the company’s munitions growth, even as analysts look for signals about the future of its space operations."

Breaking Defense – Space Force plans to create contractor pool for ‘physical/live’ training needs in summer

• "The Space Force is planning to issue a new contract this summer to create a pool of qualified vendors to help fill Guardian needs for hands-on training in electronic, cyber and orbital warfare — with the latter to eventually involve dedicated satellites on orbit, according to service officials leading the effort."

Program Fraud

NextGov – As Trump administration cries ‘fraud,’ experts worry it does more harm than good

• "Combating fraud in government programs has been a talking point for the White House since the start of the second Trump administration, most recently with a focus on an ongoing social services fraud scandal in Minnesota.  But experts say that the administration is making the problem worse, not better, by making false claims, dismantling the government’s watchdogs, using fraud as a pretext for political goals and more."

Small Biz

SBA – SBA Suspends Over 1,000 8(a) Firms from Program Following December Document Request

• "Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the suspension of 1,091 firms from the 8(a) Business Development Program – representing about 25% of all firms registered to participate in the federal government contracting program. The suspension comes after the firms failed to meet the agency’s January 19th deadline to submit three years’ worth of financial documents. In December, the SBA ordered all 4,300 firms to submit basic documentation to prove their legitimacy as part of the Trump SBA’s longstanding effort to root out small business contracting abuse by pass-through and shell companies that proliferated across the program during the Biden Administration."

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