Source: NEWSWISE Maryland’s business community endured turbulence in 2025 from rising costs, federal workforce reductions and sweeping tariff changes. Nonetheless, many firms remain cautiously optimistic about the months ahead. This, according to a new statewide survey assessing the business climate by the Center for Global Business (CGB) at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Research Professor and CGB Academic Director Kislaya Prasad led the project designed to...

Source: JDSUPRA On April 3, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released two memoranda, M-25-21 and M-25-22, regarding federal agencies’ use and acquisition, respectively, of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Among other strategies oriented towards the Trump administration’s priorities of driving AI innovation, M-25-21 and M-25-22 require “covered agencies”—“any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation,...

Source: EXECGOV The Department of Government Efficiency announced that federal agencies terminated 43 excessive contracts with a total ceiling value of $3.5 billion over the past five days, resulting in approximately $222 million in savings. DOGE said the canceled contracts include a $29 million Department of Commerce consulting contract to provide staff to conduct program management as well as planning, analysis and project management support and a $4.3 million IT contract of the Department...