2025 marked another notable year in State Attorneys General (AG) enforcement, with both a sharp uptick in multistate AG actions filed against the federal government and significant actions targeting the private sector across industries. We will highlight two issue areas here—antitrust and consumer protection—and describe the escalating friction between State AGs and the federal government as well as distill this year’s trends into actionable takeaways for businesses as we enter 2026.
On November 12, 2025, Wendy Arends and Mark Tobey presented the latest session in Husch Blackwell’s Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations webinar series. They discussed current updates in antitrust enforcement in detail. Covering federal and state merger enforcement first—one key takeaway at the federal level, the agencies continue to take HSR and Second Request compliance
“Right to repair” laws have recently gained momentum across the United States, becoming a legislative and regulatory priority. Evolving state laws, federal action, and high-profile lawsuits are shaking up the legal landscape in this area for manufacturers, businesses, and consumers.
At its core, the right to repair gives consumers and independent businesses access to the
A recent decision in the Eastern District of Texas highlighted the risks for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives involving market competitors. The decision, when paired with recent enforcement efforts from Republican state attorneys general (AGs), is the latest indicator of the increased scrutiny faced by ESG joint ventures.
Background
Over the past decade, as
There have been nearly two dozen federal government shutdowns since 1976, and while shutdowns can’t be said to be rare, it is relatively infrequent that they last very long. Only five times during that span has a shutdown lasted longer than one week. As we write this post, we are on Day 3 of the