COMMENTARY: Contractors embrace Trump's potential to modernize procurement

For government contractors, the executive orders and proclamations grabbing the headlines on the first day of President Trump’s second term will have little impact on how contractors do business.

The most impactful actions for contractors will be executive orders and recissions of Biden administration orders designed to modernize how the government operates and what is expected from contractors.

Since Trump’s election to a second term, the contractor community has been looking for ways to have an influence on the changes this second Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency will push.

L3Harris Technologies CEO Chris Kubasik wrote an open letter to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the DOGE leaders, with ideas on how to improve the defense market.

Kubasik's letter provides four policy recommendations dealing with accounting standards, more centralized procurements and limiting the ability of companies to protest.

Likewise, Accenture Federal Services released its A Federal Leader’s Guide to Reinvention paper that describes a variety of imperatives the company wants to see.

The paper is not addressed directly to the Trump administration. But its themes around innovation, talent, and streamlining operations line up with many of the DOGE principles.

Many of the executives we’ve spoken with since the election voiced the belief that the new Trump administration has an opportunity to make significant changes.

Many executives want to see action on improving how the government operates. They are embracing many of the ideas represented by DOGE and its promise of efficiency in procurement and acquisition, plus the emphasis on innovation and modernization.

There is a near-universal belief among contractors that the procurement system is a roadblock to innovation and a barrier to entry for new players with innovative technologies.

But executives have also expressed some caution because there are many unanswered questions, such as the impact of Trump’s desire to revamp the federal workforce.

Will Trump gut federal agencies? Will institutional knowledge be lost? The answers to those questions could have a significant impact on business opportunities.

Executives also have concerns about the administration being easily distracted, spending time and energy on issues that do little to improve how the government operates. That includes Trump’s desire for the U.S. to take over the Panama Canal, or rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The executives we’ve spoken to are also focused on their customers. Common themes have heard is that contractors should be talking to customers and working with them to understand how their missions align with Trump administration goals.

We’ve been told several times that the core principles around national security and the threats posed by Russia and China will not change. We also hear a common reframe that contractors will continue to play a critical role in meeting these challenges.

Still ahead are the fights around budgets, tax policy and the national debt. The coming days and weeks promise to be hectic with executive orders and directives, confirmation hearings, and congressional actions.

A lot to keep up with to say the least. We’ve created a landing page where you can track our coverage and that of our sibling publications: Government Executive, NextGov/FCW and Defense One.

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