Trump Orders All Government IT Contracts Consolidated Under GSA

President Trump's latest executive order takes aim at federal IT procurement, moving to centralize how Uncle Sam buys tech across agencies.

The order directs agencies to move toward consolidating procurement of IT and other common goods and services under the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency established in 1949 as the government's central purchasing arm.

Specifically for IT, the order instructs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to designate the GSA as the executive agent for all government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs), though it allows the GSA and OMB to defer or decline that role when necessary to avoid disruption.

"It is time to return the General Services Administration to its original purpose, rather than continuing to have multiple agencies and agency subcomponents separately carry out these same functions in an uncoordinated and less economical fashion," the missive reads. 

The cost of a comprehensive suite of Microsoft Office 365 services could vary between agencies by more than $200 per license

The order claims procurement consolidation will eliminate waste and duplication. In a fact sheet published alongside, the White House laid out examples of potential savings – pointing to items such as saw blades and flat-screen TVs, which it claims GSA buys at lower prices than other government channels or the commercial market.

Productivity software also gets a mention. "For too long, agencies have independently purchased office productivity software, leading to numerous challenges and inefficiencies, including pricing inconsistencies," the fact sheet stated. "For example, the cost of a comprehensive suite of Microsoft Office 365 services could vary between agencies by more than $200 per license." 

According to the White House, consolidations of productivity software may save as much as $100 million per year. The federal government spends about $7 trillion a year.

The fact sheet further points to identity protection services - typically procured after IT security breaches, arguing that decentralized purchasing has led to inconsistent pricing and missed opportunities for volume discounts. It claims, "GSA has an established purchasing solution that channels government-wide demand and saved $150 million in FY 24 alone."

Computers purchased for federal employees also got a mention. The fact sheet claims agencies spend over $1 billion a year on PCs, and says nearly $6 billion worth of purchases have funneled through the GSA over the past decade - delivering an average savings of 38 percent compared to other procurement channels.

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That centralization push could have implications for existing procurement programs run outside the GSA. NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for example, operate their own information technology GWACs via the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement and CIO-Solutions and Partners 3 and 4 programs.

While Trump's order calls for all IT GWACs to be centralized under the GSA, it does include a caveat allowing the procurement agency, in consultation with the OMB director, to defer or decline that role "when necessary to ensure continuity of service or as otherwise appropriate." 

Even if GSA and OMB opt not to consolidate NASA's SEWP or NIH's CIO-SP contracts immediately, the order leaves the door open. It grants them the ability to review such contracts "on an ongoing basis … as part of identifying and eliminating contract duplication, redundancy, and other inefficiencies." 

Trump also signed executive orders yesterday aimed at dismantling the Department of Education, boosting domestic production of critical minerals, mandating federal agencies to share data across the government more freely, and making it easier to fire federal employees for "post-appointment conduct." ®

PS: Boeing is to build the F-47, a sixth-generation fighter jet, for the United States. Trump is the nation's 45th and 47th president.