Trump’s Border Declaration Leads Court to Back Contract Awardee

President Trump’s declaration of a national security emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border was an “anvil that falls on the scale of justice” in favor of backing a $789 million border replacement wall contract award to SLSCO Ltd., a federal court ruled.

Protester Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. argued that its protest of the award at the Government Accountability Office should have triggered an automatic stay of performance under the Competition in Contracting Act, and the agency’s issuance of an override allowing performance was improper.

The override was reasonable given the timeline for the project and concerns about criminal activity at ...