When will the Trump factor begin?

The new administration has been very busy. President Trump has signed multiple executive orders. Nearly all of the secretaries of the major departments are in place.

Inside the agencies, I know people are working fast and furious to adjust to the new leadership and new priorities. And of course, contractors are there at each step ready to support their customers.

But unless I’m mistake, so far it’s mostly about hurrying up to be ready for action.

Yesterday, I wrote a short item on a sources sought notice from the Homeland Security Department’s Customs and Border Protection bureau. They are looking for a new commercial case management system to replace the current system.

Writing about it made me wonder, How soon can we draw a line from a Trump administration policy to an actual procurement?

I’m pretty sure this RFI was in the works before Jan. 20, but given that it is for Customs and Border Protection and President Trump has taken a hard line with immigration, the RFI gave me pause. At the very leaste the importance of this RFI is likely more heightened today because of Trump priorities.

The president and his appointees at DHS might say, Yes, we need stronger case management to get control of the borders. But that’s not quite the same thing as an RFI created to respond to a Trump administration policy.

The wheels of procurement turn slowly so just a couple days into month number two of the Trump presidency is too early to expect anything substantial along those lines.

And I know there are probably lots of actions going on between contractors and their customers driven by the new administration that don’t require RFIs or other public notice.

For something big, there generally are steps that are followed. So my question is how many steps have been taken?

I don’t know the answer but if you do, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know if you see something that tells you, the Trump factor is getting down into the day-to-day transactions of government contracting.

I think it’ll be valuable to tie administration policies to procurement actions.

Of course, I also want to hear from you if I’m off base. Perhaps more of my attention should be a step below the administration and more focused on what the department secretaries are doing. Or perhaps there is something else.

Whatever the case, your feedback is appreciated.