A reading list for the Trump transition

By Nick Wakeman,
Editor-in-Chief, Washington Technology

| November 18, 2016

We've gathered our transition coverage and some stories from other sources into an annotated reading list.

Of course, I’m going to include my own material in this reading list. This is first piece I wrote about Donald Trump’s victory and many of my questions remain. There are a lot of signs that a Trump administration will be good for government contractors, but there are some serious challenges on the horizon. Yes, there are a lot of unknowns, but there are still some very concrete actions that contractors should be taking right now. Our sister publication FCW.com provided a good look at what is at stake at the Defense Department and what is at stake.

We’ve been busy since Nov. 8 writing different stories looking at the impact of President-elect Donald Trump. A lot of it is speculation as there are more questions than answers right now. But that is to be expected at this point.

We’ve focused on the challenges that lie ahead (almost all existed before the election) and what contractors should be doing to prepare for the new administration.

I’ve collected here many of the stories and columns we’ve run as well as a few other stories from other outlets. I’ve tried to focus on ones that have a direct application on the government market.

So, you won’t find stories on Sen. Jeff Sessions, the nominee for Attorney General, or Steve Bannon, Trump’s controversial pick for chief strategist.

Trump and government contractors: Early thoughts

4 keys to a successful Trump transition

The leader of the largest industry organization representing government contractors offers his advice to the new president. And only one of the four directly involves contractors.

Trump transition: Optimism tempered with hard realities

How bumpy is the road ahead?

It might not matter what President-elect Trump wants to do, he still has to deal with the federal budget.

4 ways to prepare for the Trump administration

Trump victory alters landscape for government contracting market

This Bloomberg Government piece gives a good overview of the breadth of issues the Trump administration might have an impact on.

3 phases of the president transition the federal IT community is watching

Events have overtaken several things in this FederalNewsRadio story, but it is still a good baseline of the issues and what to watch for.

Why the transition team needs to get moving at DOD

DIUX and RCO could get lost in transition

First, I have to say, I love this headline, even though I haven’t seen the movie Lost in Translation. FCW.com looks at what might or might not happen to the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and the Rapid Capabilities Office. Both organizations are supposed to draw in more commercial technologies to government users.

Of course, the transition to the Trump administration will continue to be big news for weeks ahead, and we’ll be writing more about it. While I’m not sure I’ll do a weekly reading list, I will provide updates going forward.

If you see something you think we should include, please share.

In the meantime, good luck out there.

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