Infra Insight Blog

March 10, 2025 Update (Policy Rescission)

This afternoon (March 10, 2025), Secretary Duffy rescinded policy memoranda issued by the Federal Highway Administration during the Biden administration. The now rescinded memoranda each bore the name “Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America”—the first was issued on December 16, 2021 and the second on February 23, 2023. The 2021 memorandum, in particular, attracted significant attention throughout the industry when it stated that federal transportation funding “should be used to ...

February 26, 2025 Update

As discussed in our February 4 and 10, 2025, updates, U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan issued on February 3, 2025, a TRO prohibiting the Trump Administration “from implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name OMB memorandum M-25-13 freezing all federal financial assistance under open awards.”  On February 25, 2025, Judge AliKhan granted a preliminary injunction, ordering as follows:

• Enjoining the Trump Administration “from implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name the unilateral ...

On January 14, 2025, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced a new final rule to end its longstanding waiver of Buy America requirements for “manufactured products” used in Federal-aid highway projects.

By way of background, FHWA’s Buy America statute was enacted in 1983 and required FHWA to ensure that all federally funded projects use only steel, iron, and manufactured products that are produced in the United States.  However, at the time, FHWA determined that it would be in the public interest to waive the Buy America requirements for manufactured products ... 

The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) fiscal year 2024 report on federal bid protests includes useful insights into federal procurement trends that can help state and local government agencies mitigate bid protest risks. Among other findings, the GAO identified unreasonable technical evaluation, flawed selection decision, and unreasonable cost or price evaluation as the three most prevalent reasons for sustained protests. Examining the cases identified by the GAO for each of those reasons can help public owners understand procurement practice pitfalls that ...