In a separate post, we discuss how President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14240 (Mar. 20, 2025) will affect federal purchasing of information technology.
EO 14240 may also change how the federal government buys billions of dollars in other “common goods and services”, a phrase that include nearly everything the Government buys from private industry. The Order defines “common goods and services” as the “common Government-wide categories defined by the “Category Management Leadership Council led by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).” It includes construction, technical and engineering services, logistics, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals.
In contrast to its immediate grant of authority over information technology GWACs, EO 14240 takes a more restrained approach to expanding General Services Administration’s (GSA) role in federal contracting for other types of goods and services. The EO establishes a timeline for GSA to develop a “comprehensive plan” for consolidating this procurement, but it does not address what happens after the plan is developed.
- By May 19, 2025, EO 14240 requires each head of an “agency” to prepare and submit a proposal for consideration by the GSA Administrator “to have the General Services Administration conduct domestic procurement with respect to common goods and services for the agency, where permitted by law.” EO 14240 § 3(a).
- By June 18, 2025, EO 14240 requires the GSA Administrator to “submit a comprehensive plan to the Director of OMB for the General Services Administration to procure common goods and services across the domestic components of the Government, where permitted by law.” EO 14240 § 3(b).
The magnitude, variety, and complexity of federal purchasing supports this more incremental approach. GAO reports that the federal government’s total annual spending on contracts was $759 billion in Fiscal Year 2023. The opening sentence of EO 14240 states that spending on contracts for common goods and services is “approximately $490 billion.” Even if GSA’s plan concludes with a recommendation that GSA assume responsibility for all domestic procurement, doing so will not be easy or quick.
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