The Trump administration is ordering federal agencies not to consider left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs when selecting companies to receive procurement contracts.
The General Services Administration announced it will be issuing new deviations to federal acquisition regulations in line with Trump’s executive orders revoking DEI in federal contracting. The move will overturn former President Joe Biden’s policy of considering corporate DEI practices when awarding procurement contracts.
It marks the first steps the GSA is undertaking to overhaul federal contracting. Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized the procurement process for its burdensome regulations.
“These actions are the first steps in transforming the [Federal Acquisition Regulation] into a sensible, common sense guideline to ensure that the federal government is working with industry as an attractive partner for business,” said Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum, whom President Trump appointed to the role last month.
It remains to be seen how much the Trump administration can reform federal contracting practices without assistance from Congress, where Republicans control the House and Senate.
“The FAR has grown to more than 2,000 pages — it’s burdensome, outdated, and doesn’t allow agencies to buy at the speed of need, which leads to poor outcomes for the public we serve,” Gruenbaum said. “The time is now to streamline the FAR to better align with commercial practices. GSA looks forward to working with the members of the FAR Council on this important work.”
The GSA also moved to halt a federal effort to replace plastic straws with paper straws following an executive order from President Trump last week to end the “forced” use of paper straws nationwide. Federal contracting officers are permitted to modify existing solicitations and contracts without incurring penalties for the government or contract holder.
“The steps taken by GSA will make it easier for industry to sell their products and services to the government,” said acting GSA administrator Stephen Ehikian. “GSA is leading the way in transforming government and strongly encourages other agencies to follow our lead.”
The GSA’s move is part of the Trump administration’s broader push to remove DEI from American institutions and the federal government. Trump’s executive actions have declared DEI to be illegal and ordered government agencies to terminate DEI programming. He has also moved to fire federal DEI employees and is ordering schools to end DEI initiatives in the coming weeks.
Critics of DEI believe the left-wing programs divide people based on their immutable characteristics and teach people to develop an unhealthy obsession with personal identity in their daily lives. Conservative opponents of DEI see it as a progressive academic ideology that devalues individual character and merit in favor of racial and gender discrimination against certain groups of people.