The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Five Decades of Progress at Risk

In the mid-1970s, CLIPI's Northrop case exposed systematic bribery of foreign government officials by American corporations. The case led to Congressional hearings by the Frank Church Committee and contributed to passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 1977, making it illegal for U.S. companies to make corrupt payments to foreign officials to obtain or retain business.

In February 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the DOJ to pause the initiation of new FCPA investigations and enforcement actions for 180 days. The order characterized FCPA enforcement as "overexpansive and unpredictable," arguing that enforcement practices had harmed American economic competitiveness.

Enforcement resumed under revised guidelines issued on June 9, 2025, but at a significantly narrowed pace. By the end of 2025, the DOJ had reportedly closed about half of its open FCPA investigations, and the SEC had not filed a single FCPA enforcement action during that calendar year. New FCPA investigations now require approval from the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division or a more senior DOJ official.

My co-founder and I wrote an opinion piece about this in The Wall Street Journal last year. As Brent Rushforth put it: "They've thrown the law in the garbage can."

The argument that enforcing anti-bribery laws hurts American competitiveness has it backwards. The FCPA leveled the playing field by requiring honest business practices. 
Weakening enforcement doesn't make American companies more competitive. It makes them more corruptible.

Nearly five decades of bipartisan enforcement didn't happen by accident. It happened because the law worked.