The opportunity zone tax program was introduced during President Donald Trump’s first term as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Its main goal was to encourage investments in economically distressed areas by offering specific tax benefits. By boosting local development, increasing tax revenue and creating jobs, the opportunity zone program quickly became a focal point for real estate and community development, although it also faced criticism.
Critical minerals are the backbone of modern technologies and national security, powering everything from advanced semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries to missile guidance systems and renewable energy infrastructure. As the global economy transitions to more diverse energy technologies, the demand for these essential materials has surged. Despite their vast importance and usefulness, the United States remains heavily dependent on foreign sources—particularly China—that dominate the global supply chain for critical minerals. This reliance threatens supply chain stability, leaving key American industries vulnerable to disruptions, price manipulations and political leverage.
In DOGE Puts GSA Leases in the Doghouse, colleagues Matt Carter, Michael R. Rizzo, Andrew J. Weiner, Christian A. Buerger, David L. Miller, Dinesh C. Dharmadasa and Allan C. Van Vliet explain why, even as the Trump administration may be utilizing early exit provisions in the GSA lease cancellations and terminations reported to date, prudent contractors should prepare for other potential tactics to end leases the administration deems unfavorable.
Last week, on one of his final days in office, President Biden signed an executive order aimed at boosting the development of energy facilities and data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Executive Order 14141 directs the secretaries of Defense, Energy and the Interior to lease sites on federal land to private sector companies for the purpose of building data centers and energy generation and transmission facilities. Noting that AI technology has become, and is expected to remain, a “defining technology of our era,” and that both economic and national security risks could arise if the United States falls behind in the race to build AI infrastructure, the Order seeks to reduce regulatory barriers to these projects by speeding the permitting process, and ambitiously seeks to enable construction at these federal sites to commence by January 1, 2026.
In a potential blow to the fledging EV transition, reports have noted that the Trump transition team is planning to terminate the $7,500 consumer EV credit, an action publicly supported by Elon Musk.
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