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Counsel Commentary: Congress Focuses on Incumbent Protesters
Rogers Joseph O’Donnell – Congress has introduced a significant shift in the bid protest landscape with Section 875 of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The change targets incumbent Department of Defense (DoD) contractors that file protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Section 875 creates financial consequences for contractors whose protests are ultimately dismissed for lacking a reasonable legal or factual basis, adding a new variable to the decision-making equation for incumbent contractors considering filing a bid protest at GAO.