The protester argued the agency failed to provide a timely "mandatory" debriefing and improperly evaluated its proposal. GAO dismissed the protest as untimely. Because the original due date for the protest was during the government shutdown, the protest deadline became the day the protester was notified that the Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS) reopened.
The JAAW Group, LLC, GAO B-424133
- Background - The agency issued a solicitation for constructive gaming support services for the Directorate of Simulation. After the award was given to the awardee, the protester filed an agency protest, which was denied on September 25, 2025.
- Adverse Agency Action - Because there was no dispute that the agency denied the agency-level protest on September 25, GAO found that the denial constituted the adverse agency action. As such, the protester was required to file its protest no later than October 6 (10 days).
- Government Shutdown - The government shutdown resulted in the closure of GAO from October 1, 2025, to November 12. Because of this and the adequate notices sent to all EPDS accounts, GAO found that the protester was required to submit its protest by November 13, 2025 -- the first business day GAO was open after the shutdown. The shutdown did not freeze the deadline. Accordingly, GAO dismissed the protest as untimely because it was not filed by November 13.
Joel Ward represented the protester. The intervenor, Vikas LLC, was represented by William Jack of Dickinson Wright, PLLC. The Department of the Army was represented by Robert B. Neill, Cali Y. Kim, Carter Cassidy, and Katharine Calderon. Jungi Hong and Peter H. Tran of GAO participated in the preparation of the decision.