Executives at large consulting firms have been meeting with Trump administration officials in an attempt to safeguard their government consulting contracts as a key deadline approaches.
A memo from the General Services Administration last month ordered federal procurement officials to justify consulting contracts from the 10 highest-paid consulting firms by this coming Friday. Now, the top brass at some of those firms have been meeting with government officials to justify projects they see as mission-critical to the government.
Individuals from Booz Allen, Guidehouse, and Ernst & Young have all been in contact with Josh Gruenbaum, the Federal Acquisition Service commissioner of the GSA, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The discussions came against the backdrop of major cuts across the government since President Donald Trump entered office. A team led by billionaire Elon Musk has been working to find efficiencies at various government agencies and generally pare down the administrative state. Musk has cited the government’s massive debt and deficits as a reason for the push.
“What would any public or private business do with $36 trillion of debt while simultaneously running an approximate $2 trillion deficit each year compounded by extremely high interest rates?” Gruenbaum said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “How could you not do a line-by-line review of all spending?”
A GSA official told the Washington Examiner that the Trump administration is bringing these major firms in for a seat at the table because the administration wants them to be part of the conversation.
The official said the firms need to understand that the administration is looking for better prices and to preserve essential services, but what the firms are currently doing for the government is not 100% mission-critical.
The official said the firms need to be ready for the coming review but emphasized that the administration is trying to move forward in a way that is still friendly to the industry and the firms.
Consulting for the government is very lucrative for these major firms.
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The GSA said those 10 biggest firms, which include giants such as Booz Allen, Accenture, and Ernst & Young, are on track to receive more than $65 billion in fees this year and in the coming years.
Following initial meetings between consulting executives and the GSA officials, those executives are reportedly being told to come back with presentations going into further detail about their projects with the government.