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GAO Finds Protest Filed Weeks After “Adverse Agency Action” Is Too Late

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The protester challenged the agency’s cancellation of a solicitation and the terms of a subsequent solicitation. It argued that the cancellation was unreasonable and should have been set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). GAO found that the protest was untimely as it was filed more than 10 days after the agency’s initial adverse action.

Mission Analytics, LLC, GAO, B-423592
  • Background - Mission Analytics, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, protested the Defense Logistics Agency’s (DLA) cancellation of RFQ for antennas. The DLA canceled the RFQ after determining that all received proposals were above the simplified acquisition threshold. Consequently, the agency issued a new RFQ set aside for small businesses only. The protest was filed after the new RFQ's closing date and was thus ruled untimely.
  • Timeliness of the Protest - The agency maintained that Mission's protest was filed after the 10-day deadline following an “initial adverse agency action.” GAO’s Bid Protest Regulations stipulate that protests must be filed within this timeframe to be considered timely. Since Mission filed its protest on June 2, 2025, after the April 25 closing date for the instant RFQ, GAO dismissed the protest as untimely.
  • Protester’s Arguments Dismissed - Mission contended that the agency improperly canceled the initial RFQ and that the subsequent solicitation should have remained set aside for SDVOSBs. However, GAO noted that the agency had a reasonable basis for cancellation. All quotations exceeded the simplified acquisition threshold, making them ineligible for awards under the simplified acquisition procedures. GAO upheld the agency's discretion to proceed with the new solicitation.

The protester is represented by Michael Winters. The government is represented by Hadiya Abdullahi, Esq., of the Defense Logistics Agency. GAO attorneys Kasia Dourney, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., participated in the decision.

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