In recent years, investigators in Congress have ramped up scrutiny of government contractors and other recipients of federal funds. This trend has only accelerated in the current Congress, with Republican-led committees pursuing expansive inquiries targeting a wide variety of federal contractors and grantees. Along with familiar allegations of waste or…

Continue Reading Government Contractors Face Unique Risks Amid Growing Congressional Scrutiny

On June 4, Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) released a sweeping discussion draft of their Great American Artificial Intelligence Act. The latest bipartisan AI legislation quickly met bipartisan skepticism, particularly concerning the draft’s approach to federal preemption of state AI rules, with many House Democrats opposing the broad preemption for frontier model developers, while many House Republicans and other stakeholders lamented the bill’s omission of preemption for state laws reaching other parts of the AI ecosystem. 

The bill would also establish mandatory disclosure and risk-mitigation requirements for frontier models and task the Center for Artificial Intelligence Standards and Innovation (CAISI) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with oversight of federal AI-related research and analysis, standards and guidelines development, and risk-mitigation activities.  

Continue Reading Backlash to Bipartisan AI Omnibus Illustrates Preemption Impasse

On June 29, 2026, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that (1) the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) statutory “for‑cause” removal protection for Commissioners violates the Constitution’s separation of powers and (2) President Trump lawfully removed Rebecca Slaughter from the FTC. The Court concluded that because FTC Commissioners exercise executive power, they must be removable by the President at will rather than only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

Continue Reading Supreme Court Holds FTC Removal Protections Unconstitutional

Anderson Ribeiro, Aline Ferreira and Henryk Trelinski of Souto Correa Advogados contributed to the preparation of this article.

Foreign companies have long faced a practical challenge under Brazil’s access and benefit-sharing (“ABS”) regime: although registration obligations apply to activities involving Brazilian genetic heritage, foreign legal entities still cannot register…

Continue Reading Brazil delays SISGEN 3.0 Foreign-User Functionality while Government Advances alternative pathway for foreign ABS Compliance

In a major decision today, the Supreme Court in NRSC v. FEC struck down longstanding limits on “coordinated party expenditures” that restricted the amounts political parties could spend in coordination with federal candidates. With this decision, national party committees and the federal accounts of state parties can now spend unlimited…

Continue Reading Supreme Court Decision in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission Empowers Political Parties, Calls Other Restrictions into Question

Executive Summary

On June 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Slaughter that statutory “for-cause” removal protections for Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) unconstitutionally impair the President’s authority over Executive policy-making functions of the U.S. Government. Slaughter provides new authority for the view that the…

Continue Reading The CPSC Under Presidential Control: Implications of Trump v. Slaughter

Executive Summary

2026 has been a dynamic year so far for federal regulation of automotive safety. Federal regulators have demonstrated a sustained commitment to regulatory reform and innovation, while simultaneously advancing efforts to facilitate the deployment of autonomous vehicles. Congress has also renewed its focus on vehicle safety and automation…

Continue Reading Federal Vehicle Safety at Midyear: Regulatory Relief, Legislative Momentum, and the Road to the Broader AV Deployment

In what continues to be a busy year for genetic privacy developments, Rhode Island has joined the growing number of states regulating direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) genetic testing with its recently enacted genetic privacy law, S 2203. With S 2203, Rhode Island is the fifth state to enact genetic privacy legislation this year, following Utah, South Dakota, Connecticut, and Vermont. 

Continue Reading Rhode Island Enacts Genetic Privacy Law

On June 22, 2026, the White House released two Executive Orders (EOs) on quantum technologies: Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks (EO 14412) and Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation (EO 14413).  Through the first EO, the White House seeks “to safeguard America’s most sensitive data, [U.S.] critical infrastructure, and the digital economy that drives jobs and growth.”  (For further reading on this topic, our Post-Quantum Cryptography: A Practical Guide provides a high-level overview of steps organizations should consider to move toward post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to protect their systems.)  The second EO, in comparison, seeks “to supercharge U.S. innovation in quantum technologies.”  Together, these EOs reflect a continued U.S. government focus on core themes in the quantum space — security and innovation.

Continue Reading Trump Administration Releases Two Executive Orders on Quantum

Vermont recently enacted two privacy bills to regulate health-related information. These include H.639, a genetic privacy bill regulating direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, and the Vermont Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act (S.71), a comprehensive privacy law that extends heightened protections to “consumer health data.” You can read our full analysis of S.71 here.

Continue Reading Vermont Enacts Privacy Legislation to Regulate Health-Related Information