In a speech to the Federal Bar Association’s annual qui tam conference on Feb. 20, 2025, Michael Granston, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Commercial Litigation Branch at the U.S. Department of Justice, discussed how the Trump administration plans to “aggressively” enforce the False Claims Act (FCA). His statements come on top of other comments from Trump administration officials stating that DEI, domestic sourcing/industry, pandemic relief and cost-related considerations will be among the administration’s key enforcement priorities. This raises compliance risks for numerous entities, including healthcare and government contracting industries, federal grant recipients, educational institutions, and cybersecurity, import/export, freight forwarding and infrastructure companies.
Granston’s remarks were made one day before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland preliminarily enjoined the provision concerning certifications under the FCA in Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The order would require a term in every procurement contract or grant award that compliance in all aspects with all applicable federal antidiscrimination laws is material to the government’s payment for purposes of the FCA.
Read on to learn more about Granston’s remarks and the FCA enforcement landscape.