In January 2025, Covington issued a client alert noting that the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025, which sets annual spending and policy for the Pentagon, introduced new China-related prohibitions on defense contractors and their consultants. The provision is finally set to take effect on June 30, 2026. This client alert provides an update on the new restriction and suggested compliance steps defense contractors, and consultants who work with defense contractor clients, might consider taking before the end of the month.

Tags: government contracts, lobbying
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Photo of Robert Kelner Robert Kelner

Robert Kelner is the chair of Covington’s nationally recognized Election and Political Law Practice Group.  He counsels clients on the full range of political law compliance matters, and defends clients in civil and criminal law enforcement investigations concerning political activity. He also leads…

Robert Kelner is the chair of Covington’s nationally recognized Election and Political Law Practice Group.  He counsels clients on the full range of political law compliance matters, and defends clients in civil and criminal law enforcement investigations concerning political activity. He also leads the firm’s prominent congressional investigations practice.

Rob’s political law compliance practice covers federal and state campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, pay to play, and government ethics laws. His expertise includes the Federal Election Campaign Act, Lobbying Disclosure Act, Ethics in Government Act, Foreign Agents Registration Act, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

He is also a leading authority on the arcane rules governing political contributions and marketing activities by registered investment advisers and municipal securities dealers.

Rob’s political law clients include numerous multinational corporations, many of which are household names.  He counsels major banks, hedge funds, private equity funds, trade associations, PACs, political party committees, candidates, lobbying firms, and politically active high-net-worth individuals. He has represented the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and National Republican Senatorial Committee.  He also advises Presidential political appointees on the complex vetting and confirmation process.

As a partner in the firm’s White Collar Defense & Investigations practice group, Rob regularly defends clients in congressional investigations before virtually every major congressional investigation committee.  He also defends corporations and others in investigations by the Federal Election Commission, the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, federal Offices of Inspector General, and the House & Senate Ethics Committees.  He has prepared many CEOs and corporate executives for testimony before congressional investigation panels. He regularly leads the Practicing Law Institute’s training program on congressional investigations for in-house lawyers.  In addition, he is frequently retained to lead internal investigations and compliance reviews for major corporate clients concerning lobbying and campaign finance law issues.

Rob has appeared as a commentator on political law matters on The PBS News Hour, CNBC, Fox News, and NPR, and he has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Legal Times, Roll Call, The Hill, Politico, USA Today, Financial Times, and other publications.

Rob is Chairman of Covington’s Professional Responsibility Committee and a General Counsel of the firm.  He also currently serves as Chairman of the District of Columbia Bar’s Legislative Practice Committee, and he previously was appointed by the President of the American Bar Association to serve on the ABA’s Standing Committee on Election Law.

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Photo of Scott A. Freling Scott A. Freling

Scott Freling co-chairs the firm’s Government Contracts practice and is recognized by Chambers USA as a leading practitioner. He divides his practice between representing civilian and defense contractors in traditional government contracts matters and guiding buyers and sellers—including a number of leading private…

Scott Freling co-chairs the firm’s Government Contracts practice and is recognized by Chambers USA as a leading practitioner. He divides his practice between representing civilian and defense contractors in traditional government contracts matters and guiding buyers and sellers—including a number of leading private equity firms—through the regulatory aspects of complex M&A deals involving government contractors.

Chambers USA ranks Scott as a Band 1 lawyer for Government Contracts M&A. Scott is sought after for his regulatory expertise and his ability to apply that knowledge to the transactional environment. He has extensive experience leading classified and unclassified due diligence reviews of government contractors, negotiating transaction documents, and assisting with integration and other post-closing activities. He has served as the lead government contracts lawyer in dozens of M&A deals, with a combined value of more than $80 billion. Some of Scott’s notable transactions include Shield AI’s acquisition of Aechelon, Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners’ take-private acquisition of TRIUMPH for $3 billion, Advent International’s take-private acquisition of Maxar Technologies for $6.4 billion, and Aptiv’s acquisition of Wind River for $3.5 billion.

Scott also represents contractors at all stages of the procurement process and in their dealings with federal, state, and local government customers. He handles a wide range of government contracts matters, including compliance counseling, contract terminations, claims, disputes, audits, and investigations. Scott frequently advises contractors on organizational conflicts of interest and government intellectual property rights. He also counsels clients on risk mitigation strategies, including obtaining SAFETY Act liability protection for anti-terrorism technologies.

Law360 has recognized Scott as a MVP in Government Contracts. He was a founding co-chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the ABA’s Public Contract Law Section.

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Photo of Zachary G. Parks Zachary G. Parks

Zachary Parks advises corporations, trade associations, campaigns, and high-net worth individuals on their most important and challenging political law problems.

Chambers USA describes Zachary as “highly regarded by his clients in the political law arena,” noting that clients praised him as their “go-to…

Zachary Parks advises corporations, trade associations, campaigns, and high-net worth individuals on their most important and challenging political law problems.

Chambers USA describes Zachary as “highly regarded by his clients in the political law arena,” noting that clients praised him as their “go-to outside attorney for election law, campaign finance, pay-to-play and PAC issues.” Zachary is also a leading lawyer in the emerging corporate political disclosure field, regularly advising corporations on these issues.

Zachary’s expertise includes the Federal Election Campaign Act, the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the Ethics in Government Act, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play rules. He has also helped clients comply with the election and political laws of all 50 states. Zachary also frequently leads political law due diligence for investment firms and corporations during mergers and acquisitions.

He routinely advises corporations and corporate executives on instituting political law compliance programs and conducts compliance training for senior corporate executives and lobbyists. He also has extensive experience conducting corporate internal investigations concerning campaign finance and lobbying law compliance and has defended his political law clients in investigations by the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, Congressional committees, and in litigation.

Zachary is also the founder and chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s Political and Election Law Section.

Zachary also has extensive complex litigation experience, having litigated major environmental claims, class actions, and multi-district proceedings for financial institutions, corporations, and public entities.

From 2005 to 2006, Zachary was a law clerk for Judge Thomas B. Griffith on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

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Photo of Derek Lawlor Derek Lawlor

Derek Lawlor is of counsel in the firm’s Election and Political Law Practice Group. Derek advises corporations, nonprofit organizations, and trade associations on compliance with federal and state lobbying, campaign finance, and government ethics laws.

Clients regularly rely on Derek to assist with…

Derek Lawlor is of counsel in the firm’s Election and Political Law Practice Group. Derek advises corporations, nonprofit organizations, and trade associations on compliance with federal and state lobbying, campaign finance, and government ethics laws.

Clients regularly rely on Derek to assist with their complex questions related to activities and projects that implicate all of these laws. Derek advises federal and state candidates and super PACs on campaign finance and disclosure issues. Derek also represents clients in government investigations and inquiries conducted by the Federal Election Commission, Office of Congressional Ethics, and Congressional Committees and Commissions.

Derek’s representation of clients covers the full range of important political law issues that they face, including:

Advising clients on their registration and reporting obligations under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act, as well as state and local lobbying laws, including helping client organizations evaluate the core questions that arise in this space:

Has the organization or any of its employees triggered lobbying registration requirements?
What lobbying income, expenditures, issues, or contacts need to be disclosed on lobbying reports?
Does procurement or sales activity directed at governmental entities trigger lobbying registration in a particular jurisdiction?
What are the best practices for designing a lobbying compliance program?

Assisting corporations and trade associations with the establishment and operation of connected PACs, which frequently entails evaluating the following questions:

What steps does the organization need to take to start up and register a connected PAC?
What are the ongoing reporting requirements under the Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”) or state campaign finance laws?
Which employees can the organization solicit and what are the rules on conducting a solicitation campaign?
What are the limits on making contributions to federal, state, or local candidates, party committees, or other political committees?
What are the best practices for designing a PAC compliance program?

Evaluating whether a client’s proposed activities might trigger registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), and if so, advising on registration and ongoing reporting obligations;
Advising federal and state candidates, super PACs, and other political committees on compliance with FECA, FEC regulations and reporting requirements, state campaign finance laws, rules on disclaimers placed on communications, and other political law compliance topics;
Counseling individuals who are entering government service, including Senate-confirmed positions, on the various financial disclosure requirements, conflicts of interest considerations, and other ethics law issues they may face;
Helping clients establish politically active or policy-focused nonprofit organizations, and proving ongoing support related to tax and political law issues that might arise from their activities; and
Advising corporations, nonprofits, and individuals on their proposed donations to candidates, political committees, and other politically active outside groups.

Derek was a Professorial Lecturer in Law at the George Washington University Law School from 2015-2025.

Prior to receiving his law degree, Derek worked in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Photo of Stephanie Barna Stephanie Barna

Stephanie Barna draws on over three decades of U.S. military and government service to provide advisory and advocacy support and counseling to clients facing policy and political challenges in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie was a senior…

Stephanie Barna draws on over three decades of U.S. military and government service to provide advisory and advocacy support and counseling to clients facing policy and political challenges in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie was a senior leader on Capitol Hill and in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Most recently, she was General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where she was responsible for the annual $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Additionally, she managed the Senate confirmation of three- and four-star military officers and civilians nominated by the President for appointment to senior political positions in DoD and the Department of Energy’s national security nuclear enterprise, and was the Committee’s lead for investigations.

Previously, as a senior executive in the Office of the Army General Counsel, Stephanie served as a legal advisor to three Army Secretaries. In 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appointed her to be the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. In that role, she was a principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on all matters relating to civilian and military personnel, reserve integration, military community and family policy, and Total Force manpower and resources. Stephanie was later appointed by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to perform the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, responsible for programs and funding of more than $35 billion.

Stephanie was also previously the Deputy General Counsel for Operations and Personnel in the Office of the Army General Counsel. She led a team of senior lawyers in resolving the full spectrum of issues arising from Army wartime operations and the life cycle of Army military and civilian personnel. Stephanie was also a personal advisor to the Army Secretary on his institutional reorganization and business transformation initiatives and acted for the Secretary in investigating irregularities in fielding of the Multiple Launch Rocket System and classified contracts. She also played a key role in a number of high-profile personnel investigations, including the WikiLeaks breach. Prior to her appointment as Deputy, she was Associate Deputy General Counsel (Operations and Personnel) and Acting Deputy General Counsel.

Stephanie is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army and served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps as an Assistant to the General Counsel, Office of the Army General Counsel; Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne); Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserve Affairs); and General Law Attorney, Administrative Law Division.

Stephanie was selected by the National Academy of Public Administration for inclusion in its 2022 Class of Academy Fellows, in recognition of her years of public administration service and expertise.

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Photo of Channing Ruff Channing Ruff
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