{"id":71679,"date":"2026-01-26T18:44:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/01\/26\/critics-see-chilling-effect-of-dod-crackdown-on-8a-small-biz-deals\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:19:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:19:00","slug":"critics-see-chilling-effect-of-dod-crackdown-on-8a-small-biz-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2026\/01\/26\/critics-see-chilling-effect-of-dod-crackdown-on-8a-small-biz-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"Critics see \u2018chilling effect\u2019 of DOD crackdown on 8(a) small-biz deals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Jan. 16 lambasted a decades-old contracting program that provides business opportunities for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2025\/01\/28\/pentagon-says-small-business-programs-not-part-of-grant-funding-pause\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2025\/01\/28\/pentagon-says-small-business-programs-not-part-of-grant-funding-pause\/\">small and disadvantaged businesses<\/a>, calling it a breeding ground for fraud and disparaging it as a \u201cDEI\u201d effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But experts and an executive from a firm that uses such contracts say the level of fraud critics like Hegseth alleged has been greatly exaggerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some fear the harsh rhetoric around the program signals a desire to eliminate it, which they say would hurt small businesses and the Pentagon\u2019s ability to quickly respond to unfolding emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/2012302240594170106\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/2012302240594170106\">video posted on social media<\/a>, Hegseth described the Small Business Administration\u2019s 8(a) Business Development Program in harsh terms, connecting it with diversity programs he has strongly criticized and ordering a strict review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re actually taking a sledgehammer to the oldest DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] program in the federal government,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cA program few people outside of Washington have ever heard of, that I hadn\u2019t heard of. It\u2019s called the 8(a) program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norm Abdallah, executive vice president of Honolulu-based Native Hawaiian organization Hui Huliau, said recent criticism of the program is based on a \u201cmischaracterization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019d hate to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater [as the result of] a couple of bad actors,\u201d he said in a Jan. 21 interview with Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SBA\u2019s 8(a) program grew out of late-1960s efforts by the Johnson and Nixon administrations to try to increase economic opportunities for Black business owners, in the wake of riots and unrest during the Civil Rights Movement. Through the 1970s, those efforts broadened to other ethnicities who had been economically disadvantaged, such as Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the 8(a) program provides federal contracting preferences to participating small businesses, such as set-aside awards \u2014 for which only a select pool of contractors may compete \u2014 and sole-source awards, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs_external_products\/R\/PDF\/R44844\/R44844.35.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs_external_products\/R\/PDF\/R44844\/R44844.35.pdf\">2022 Congressional Research Service report<\/a>. It also provides training and technical assistance to small businesses to help them compete in the private marketplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sam Le \u2014 a former SBA attorney and director of policy planning, who now runs his own law firm and writes a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govconintelligence.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.govconintelligence.com\/\">Substack on small businesses and government contracting<\/a> \u2014 said the 8(a) program covers about $25 billion in contracts governmentwide each year. Of that total, about $15.5 billion in contracts were awarded by the Defense Department in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Businesses can only participate for up to nine years while they grow, and then they must graduate out of the 8(a) program. And there are firm requirements on how much work they must perform on a contract versus subcontracting it out, and reviews for compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Breeding ground for fraud\u2019 or small-business boon?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his video, Hegseth said the 8(a) program may have started with good intentions but has become \u201ca breeding ground for fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOver the decades, as it happens, the 8(a) program has morphed into swamp code words for DEI, race-based contracting,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cAnd here\u2019s the worst part: In many, many instances, these socially disadvantaged businesses, they don\u2019t even do work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We are taking a sledgehammer to the oldest DEI program in the federal government\u2014the 8(a) program. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/c9iH8gcqG7\">pic.twitter.com\/c9iH8gcqG7<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/2012302240594170106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some recent high-profile cases of fraud have cast a shadow over the 8(a) program. In December, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/ernst-calls-for-complete-halt-and-full-audit-of-fraud-filled-contracting-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/ernst-calls-for-complete-halt-and-full-audit-of-fraud-filled-contracting-program\">Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called on all federal agencies<\/a> to stop issuing new sole-source contracts through the 8(a) program until a thorough review is held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In her release, Ernst pointed to a June 2025 Justice Department case in which four men \u2014 including a U.S. Agency for International Development contracting officer and three owners and presidents of companies \u2014 pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges in what prosecutors called \u201ca decade-long bribery scheme\u201d involving 14 contracts worth more than $550 million. Two of those companies, Justice said, were small businesses certified under the 8(a) program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also highlighted an October hidden camera video by <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JamesOKeefeIII\/status\/1980344367014429114\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JamesOKeefeIII\/status\/1980344367014429114\">conservative activist James O\u2019Keefe<\/a>, who caught a contracting director from a firm called ATI Government Solutions admitting 80% of her company\u2019s 8(a) program work was actually done by subcontractors. <a href=\"https:\/\/tribalbusinessnews.com\/sections\/federal-8-a-contracting\/15347-sba-suspends-tribal-contractor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/tribalbusinessnews.com\/sections\/federal-8-a-contracting\/15347-sba-suspends-tribal-contractor\">SBA swiftly suspended ATI Government Solutions<\/a>, a Native American tribally owned firm, from the program <a href=\"https:\/\/sam.gov\/exclusions-new?pirKey=633351&amp;pirValue=1761074405564573\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/sam.gov\/exclusions-new?pirKey=633351&amp;pirValue=1761074405564573\">a day after that video\u2019s release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his Jan. 16 video, Hegseth alleged that many businesses with 8(a) contracts take fees ranging from 10% to 50% off the top and then hire \u201ca giant consulting firm, commonly known as Beltway bandits,\u201d to do the actual work required by the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25336628389676.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-120199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25336628389676.jpg.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25336628389676.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25336628389676.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25336628389676.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25336628389676.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25336628389676.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re not doing this anymore,\u201d Hegseth said. He announced a line-by-line review of all small-business sole-source 8(a) contracts worth more than $20 million, and said smaller contracts will also be subject to review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hegseth said that if the department concludes any 8(a) contracts don\u2019t \u201cmake us more lethal, it\u2019s gone. We have no room in our budget for wasteful DEI contracts that don\u2019t help us win wars, period. Full stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hegseth also pledged to get rid of \u201cpass-through schemes\u201d that he said allow a \u201cshell company\u201d to pose as a small business and then fob the work off on a big consulting firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alan Chvotkin, an attorney and government contracting expert, said Hegseth\u2019s assertion that 8(a) companies often do as little as 10% of the work required by contracts is inaccurate. 8(a) companies are allowed to subcontract out some work, but in most cases are required to do at least 50% of the work themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abdallah said construction contracts on the 8(a) program allow as much as 85% of the dollar amount to be subcontracted out, but that is because materials make up so much of the expense on such projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ernst in December sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/12082025sba8aprogramfinalletters.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/12082025sba8aprogramfinalletters.pdf\">letters to Hegseth and other agency leaders<\/a> that were critical of the 8(a) program and former President Joe Biden\u2019s contracting policies. In its first year, the Biden administration announced a goal to grow small, disadvantaged businesses\u2019 government contracts from 5% of agency contracts to 15% by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile there\u2019s no doubt that the Biden administration\u2019s indifference toward 8(a) program integrity enabled swindlers and fraudsters to treat federal contracting programs like personal piggy banks, 8(a) program flaws have raised alarm bells for decades,\u201d Ernst wrote to agency leaders. \u201cSloppy oversight and weak enforcement measures allow 8(a) participants to act as pass-through entities, snagging unlimited no-bid deals with little transparency. Every loophole guts public trust and rigs the system against honest competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Le said the accusations of widespread fraud within the 8(a) program are inaccurate. When Le dug into the $550 million bribery case Ernst cited, he said, he found that amount was the total of all government contracts involved. Le could only confirm a single sole-source 8(a) contract in that group, and that deal \u2014 to build a website for government lawyers \u2014 was worth $22,000. Another $13 million sole-source contract coded as an 8(a) deal may have been incorrectly categorized, he wrote on his website, and was awarded under the first Trump administration, not Biden\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In her letters to agency heads, Ernst repeated O\u2019Keefe\u2019s assertion that he had uncovered a $100 billion fraud scheme in the 8(a) program. Le said that given the 8(a) program awards at most $25 billion in total each year, O\u2019Keefe\u2019s claim isn\u2019t realistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat would have to be a multiyear scheme involving every single 8(a) contract,\u201d Le said. \u201c$100 billion is much beyond what is plausible in this program. The 8(a) program only accounts for about 4% of federal contract spending, and an even smaller amount of that is sole-source contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A \u2018chilling effect\u2019 \u2014 or worse \u2014 feared <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chvotkin said the government and contracting officers certainly need to be watchful for fraud and bad actors in the 8(a) program, no different than other government contracting programs. And while the review of contracts worth $20 million or more will be labor intensive, Chvotkin said it will be worthwhile if it catches more wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, he said, isolated examples of fraud should not be used as a reason to shut down the entire program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are cheaters everywhere,\u201d Chvotkin said. \u201cI\u2019m not so naive to suggest there\u2019s not the risk of fraud, or actual fraud, taking place in the 8(a) program. The Defense Department, just like every other agency, is right to be looking at those aggressively. But that\u2019s different than characterizing this program as a DEI program that should be terminated simply because it\u2019s benefiting socially and economically disadvantaged companies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abdallah said he expects Hui Huliau \u2014 a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Native Hawaiian organization that owns small businesses enrolled in the 8(a) program \u2014 to be looked at as part the review Hegseth ordered, and welcomes the scrutiny. His company already submits a compliance package to the SBA each year to remain in the program, and he said good contracting officers are the first line of defense against fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGetting audited is part of the process,\u201d Abdallah said. \u201cWe welcome it, especially if it ferrets out bad actors. \u2026 There are going to be people who take advantage of the system, and those actors, we would love to be rooted out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hui Huliau\u2019s for-profit subsidiaries provide logistics, construction, disaster remediation and other capabilities to support government agencies and military units, often overseas. Abdallah said Hui Huliau firms have operated in locations worldwide including the Middle East, South Central Asia, North Africa and the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe became very good at learning how to support federal initiatives in hard places,\u201d Abdallah said. \u201cIf there was a place that someone was shooting at someone, we probably had someone there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hui Huliau\u2019s revenue from state and federal government contracts fluctuates from year to year \u2014 sometimes spiking after major events such as the wildfires in Maui and Los Angeles \u2014 but Abdallah said it is typically around $200 million annually. The company employs about 300 people, and said some of its subsidiaries\u2019 profits go to benefit educational, social, economic and cultural preservation programs for Native Hawaiians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abdallah said he was shocked to see Hegseth\u2019s video \u2014 partly because the program isn\u2019t that big when compared to the rest of government contracting, and partly because he doesn\u2019t see it as rife with fraud as Hegseth and Ernst alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are unfortunately bad actors in lots of places, but nothing comes close in this space to Medicare fraud or things like that,\u201d Abdallah said. \u201cIt\u2019s not rampant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abdallah was also surprised to see the 8(a) program discussed so negatively by Hegseth and Ernst, without acknowledging the program\u2019s positive aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being enrolled in the 8(a) program means Hui Huliau has been qualified and vetted as a legitimate small firm, Abdallah said, and the way the contracts are structured allows the company to quickly take on work and respond to emerging needs. In the case of rapidly unfolding disasters such as wildfires, he said, Hui Huliau can be hired and on the job within 48 hours using the 8(a) program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRapid response is huge in national security,\u201d Abdallah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">8(a) contracts also provide a good way to bring manufacturing back to the United States, Abdallah said, since some deals go to small, local manufacturers that make things that were previously offshored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chvotkin agreed that the 8(a) program is greatly beneficial to the government and the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese are really business development initiatives, not so much DEI initiatives,\u201d Chvotkin said. \u201cIt\u2019s true that the beneficiaries of [the 8(a) program] are socially and economically disadvantaged companies. But there are significant benefits that the government gets from this program. It\u2019s not a giveaway; companies are required to provide goods or perform services \u2026 just like every other contract that\u2019s awarded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The only difference, Chvotkin said, is the pool of companies allowed to bid on the proposals is limited to socially or economically disadvantaged firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chvotkin predicted the high-profile and intense scrutiny from major figures such as Hegseth and Ernst will have a \u201cchilling effect\u201d on the 8(a) program, at least for now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe message to the acquisition officers in the Department of Defense, if the secretary is categorizing it as a DEI program, we know what the implications are of that,\u201d Chvotkin said. \u201cI suspect that companies and agencies\u2019 buying activities will stay away from this program to the extent that they can, in the short term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abdallah said he\u2019s already seen such an effect, as contracts are paused \u201cout of fear.\u201d He\u2019s seen some 8(a) contracts put on hold since Ernst\u2019s early December memos on the program, and other DOD deals that were supposed to come out in January were delayed in the days after Hegseth\u2019s video, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf I were a contracting officer in the U.S. government, especially the Department of Defense, I wouldn\u2019t want to put out an 8(a) contract,\u201d Abdallah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Abdallah worries about what the administration\u2019s next step might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m concerned that this is a prelude to trying to do away with the program altogether under the guise of crushing DEI,\u201d Abdallah said. \u201cWhen in reality, the 8(a) program is an economic development program, and predates by decades any of the current DEI things that they claim to be fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the 8(a) program went away, Abdallah predicted it would have multiple negative effects. The military would lose an important procurement tool that provides flexibility and the ability to act quickly, he said. It will hurt small-business growth and job creation. And in an age where the defense industrial base is already atrophying, as more companies drop out of doing business with the military, eliminating the 8(a) program would worsen that trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The set-aside contracts that make up the 8(a) program are, in many cases, the only way small companies can survive against mega-defense contractors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGoing head-to-head with a Lockheed Martin \u2014 you\u2019re just going to get crushed with [their] resources,\u201d Abdallah said. \u201cSo having them set aside for competition \u2014 even with a smaller group of qualified people \u2014 puts you on a more level competitive field. Otherwise, you\u2019re competing with multibillion dollar companies, and that\u2019s just not realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI\u2019d hate to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater,\u201d one executive said of the Trump administration&#8217;s scrutiny of small-business 8(a) programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,12,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3412],"class_list":["post-71679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-industry","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"YLSOYUWOUJCRJFCSQV7UECWHVM","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2026\/01\/26\/critics-see-chilling-effect-of-dod-crackdown-on-8a-small-biz-deals\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Critics see \u2018chilling effect\u2019 of DOD crackdown on 8(a) small-biz deals - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cI\u2019d hate to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater,\u201d one executive said of the Trump administration&#039;s scrutiny of small-business 8(a) programs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Critics see \u2018chilling effect\u2019 of DOD crackdown on 8(a) small-biz deals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI\u2019d hate to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater,\u201d one executive said of the Trump 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