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Tag: Trump

New Leadership for GSA

The White House has appointed new leadership to the General Services Administration (GSA), drawing heavily from the tech and finance sectors. On day one of the Trump administration, GSA welcomed its new team, including Stephen Ehikian as deputy administrator and acting administrator. (Federal News Network January 20, 2025)

Larry Allen, a longtime GSA expert, will become the associate administrator of the Office of Governmentwide Policy. Ehikian also introduced key political appointments: Josh Gruenbaum as commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, Mike Peters as commissioner of the Public Building Service, and Thomas Shedd as director of the Technology Transformation Service and deputy FAS commissioner. (ibid)

In an email message, Ehikian emphasized the GSA’s recommitment to its founding purpose of ensuring governmentwide efficiency and maximizing taxpayer value. “I recognize the critical importance of our agency’s mission and look forward to working together in the coming weeks to achieve it,” he stated. (ibid)

Ehikian outlined six guiding principles for the GSA:

  • Foster a culture of performance and accountability across federal government operations.
  • Eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal budget and processes.
  • Leverage best-in-class technologies to accelerate digital transformation and modernize IT infrastructure.
  • Uphold competitive principles that strengthen America’s economy, including fair and merit-based contract awards.
  • Promote “Made in America” policies to support domestic jobs and businesses.
  • Improve transparency, accountability, and collaboration within the GSA and with external partners. (ibid)

In a separate message, Ehikian detailed the agency’s future direction. He highlighted the GSA’s traditional role as a model of efficiency and pledged to refocus on streamlining government operations. “We will prioritize smarter, faster government services over larger, slower systems,” he explained. Ehikian also committed to aligning GSA priorities with the Trump administration’s objectives, such as:

  • Relocating federal operations from Washington, D.C., to regional facilities to boost economic opportunities nationwide.
  • Transitioning federal employees back to office environments to improve collaboration and accountability.
  • Supporting American innovation and removing ideological mandates, such as Green New Deal and ESG requirements, from construction and procurement policies.
  • Right-sizing the federal office portfolio by disposing of underutilized buildings and improving operational efficiency.
  • Enhancing transparency, accountability, and partnerships across government and industry. (ibid)

Ehikian acknowledged the dedication of GSA employees, attributing the agency’s transformation to their expertise and hard work. He announced plans for a new performance-based reward structure to align employee incentives with the agency’s mission. (ibid)

Ehikian brings extensive private-sector experience to his role, including positions at Salesforce and co-founding Airkit.ai, which Salesforce acquired in 2023. He also led RelateIQ, sold to Salesforce in 2014 for $390 million. Ehikian earned an MBA from Stanford and degrees in mechanical engineering and economics from Yale. (ibid)

Josh Gruenbaum, the new commissioner of FAS, joins GSA after serving as a director at the global investment firm KKR. This marks his first public-sector role following private-sector experience since graduating from NYU with dual MBA and JD degrees. (ibid)

Additionally, Ehikian named Frank Schuler and Michael Lynch as senior advisors in the administrator’s office and appointed Rusty McGranahan as general counsel. (ibid)

Questions concerning the changes at GSA and how your contract might be affected? Give us a call.

New E-Commerce Platform

The 2018 Defense Authorization Act requires the government to utilize a new e-commerce platform. Well, after several protests, several solicitation rewrites, and the COVID-19 pandemic, we now have the proof-of-concept phase, with three vendors: Amazon Business, Overstock.com, and Fischer Scientific will allow access to their e-commerce sites with micropurchases of $10,000 or less. By awarding a contract to three vendors, GSA hopes to ensure pricing competition and high service levels. (Federal News Network, June 29, 2020)

During the 30 day proof-of-concept phase, agencies receive access to order from vendors’ e-commerce platforms for testing and stakeholder feedback. Participating agencies include Veterans Affairs, Justice and Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency, and GSA. Additional agencies may join in the coming months.

However, contractors are still questioning the apparent two sets of rules for micropurchases; those made under e-commerce and those made from other platforms, such as GSA Advantage. They believe transparency to be vital as well as understanding the pilot parameters. Remaining questions include e-marketplace conflict of interest issues, restriction on platform provider uses of third party transactional data, and how country of origin and counterfeit products are handled.” (ibid)

Not sure how government agencies ordering from e-commerce platforms will affect your ability to do business with them? Give us a call.

More COVID-19 Guidance

Last week the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) updated its agency guidance for federal contractors, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three main takeaways are:

  • Agencies are encouraged to work with their contractors to allow for the maximization of telework.
  • Agencies must be flexible providing extensions to performance dates if working virtually isn’t possible or if a contractor must quarantine. Agencies should also weigh whether to keep key personnel in a mobile-ready state for national security measures.
  • Agencies are urged to leverage the special emergency procurement authorized in connection with the emergency declaration under the “Stafford Act”. These include increases to: the micro-purchase threshold; the simplified acquisition threshold; and the threshold for using simplified procedures for certain commercial items. These are designed to reduce discord for contractors, especially small businesses, allowing for a more rapid response to the increasing demands agencies face. (Nextgov, March 22, 2020)

The agency guidance comes after trade groups and lawmakers strongly voiced the need for contractor guidance. The updated guidance includes a section of frequently asked questions, including contractor exposure to COVID-19. (ibid)

OMB also issued technology guidance for use during the COVID-19 national emergency. The technology guidance also includes a FAQ section, with steps to ensure IT and cybersecurity measures are met while working remotely. It urges agencies to continue updating their websites to enable public access to government services.

Need some help figuring out OMBs agency guidance for contractors? Give us a call.