In a March 20 executive order, President Trump directed federal agencies to submit plans to consolidate procurement for “common goods and services” under the General Services Administration, which puts the agency in charge of contracts in 10 broad market categories that were worth $495 Billion in fiscal 2024. Together, these contracts represented 64% of total contract spending by all defense and civilian agencies, according to the most recent Bloomberg data.
Trump’s move would have a major impact on the buying power not just of GSA and its roughly 12,000 workers—which like the rest of the government faces its own budget and staffing cuts—but of virtually all federal agencies. It represents a continuation of a push that has straddled multiple administrations to give agencies greater leverage by negotiating with contractors as a bloc, especially for technology services. More
