‘Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars’ Cited as Goals for Procurement Changes at the General Services Administration and Department of Defense

On March 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order intended to eliminate waste and save taxpayer dollars by consolidating the domestic federal procurement processes within the General Services Administration (GSA). In doing so, President Trump noted his intention to return the GSA to his view of its original purpose and to protect against federal agencies carrying out federal procurement functions “in an uncoordinated and less economical fashion.”

The Executive Order directs agencies to consult on and submit consolidated procurement proposals for the GSA within 60 days. Within 90 days, the Administrator of General Services will submit a comprehensive plan to the Director of OMB for the GSA to implement GSA's new role. The Director of OMB will also designate the Administrator as the executive agent for all government-wide information technology (IT) procurements and issue a memorandum to all Federal agencies implementing those procurement procedures.

Also on March 20, 2025, the Secretary of Defense issued an internal memorandum directing the termination of more than $580 million in programs, contracts, and grants he deemed wasteful and misaligned with the priorities of President Trump or the Department of Defense. According to Secretary Hegseth, the monies saved cutting fraud, waste, and abuse will help ensure warfighters have what they need. Secretary Hegseth signaled additional cuts by the DOD in the days to come.

Have concerns about how this Executive Order or the DOD cuts may impact your business? Contact a member of the Woods Rogers Construction & Government Contracts Practice Group.