FAR Rulemaking Drops the Hammer

Seventeen FAR parts just entered formal notice-and-comment rulemaking — the biggest structural acquisition event since 1984. Today's episode argues that the consensus narrative (FAR reform burdens small firms, benefits large primes) is wrong for AI-native shops: if Part 12 commercial-item treatment comes out strengthened, small FFP-oriented AI firms may face lower compliance burden on commercial buys, not higher. The firms most exposed are mid-tier IT services primes living on FAR complexity, and VARs being disintermediated are the canary.

Featured story

• First 17 parts of the FAR move into formal rulemaking process — Federal News Network

Also today

• What's next for value-added resellers? — Federal News Network [6723e8508e]
• Senate lawmakers bring back acquisition reforms dropped from final 2026 NDAA — Federal News Network [a3496ad8e5]
• Pentagon's growing role as an investor draws new scrutiny on Capitol Hill — Government Executive [69aaf8a0d2]
• Why Trump invoked the Defense Production Act now — Breaking Defense [741c85cbd2]
• Office of Naval Research rolls out new science and technology strategy — Federal News Network [d0dcb0867a]
• Cloud Exchange 2026: GSA's Jessie Posilkin on how TMF investments help accelerate modernization — Federal News Network [bc9c1cbc9c]
• Automation vs autonomy: What will shape the future of battlefield drones? — Breaking Defense [5821cd85e2]