Big Consulting Bosses Meet With Trump Officials to Save Contracts
Executives from EY, Booz Allen and others are being told to ‘defend the spend’ on their work for the government—and identify possible cuts
Executives at some of the biggest U.S. consulting firms are meeting with Trump administration officials to defend their projects ahead of this coming week’s deadline for government agencies to justify major consulting contracts.
In recent days, top executives at professional services firms including Ernst & Young and Guidehouse have met with officials including Josh Gruenbaum, the Federal Acquisition Service commissioner within the General Services Administration, according to people familiar with the discussions. A Booz Allen BAH -4.48%decrease; red down pointing triangle executive has also been in touch with Gruenbaum, who is a former director at the private-equity firm KKR.
The flurry of meetings comes amid a Trump administration review of consultants and government contracts as part of a push to rein in federal spending. The General Services Administration, or GSA, has asked procurement officials at federal agencies to list and justify consulting contracts from 10 companies—including Booz Allen, Accenture ACN -2.35%decrease; red down pointing triangle, Guidehouse and others—that the agencies intend to keep. The responses are due on Friday.
The GSA has identified that the 10 highest-paid consulting firms are set to receive more than $65 billion in total fees across 2025 and future years. That is money that has yet to be spent, and comes from contracts tagged as “consulting services” within the Federal Procurement Data System from the top governmentwide vendors, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In the meetings with consultants, Gruenbaum has emphasized to executives that the government sees value in consulting—particularly in rolling out advanced technology and modernizing government agencies.
What may be frowned upon are contracts providing market research and analysis or supporting work on topics the Trump administration has de-emphasized, such as diversity, equity and inclusion issues. Gruenbaum has assured executives that the GSA wasn’t looking to put firms out of business but would be doing a deliberate review of existing contracts, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
Consulting firms are being asked to “defend the spend,” by explaining which of their existing projects they see as mission critical to the government’s goals, and which could be cut. Firms may be asked to make pricing concessions on existing contracts, though Gruenbaum has told executives that they could make up for the cuts by also suggesting new projects or services to the government that could offer a demonstrable return-on-investment, the people said.
“The private sector provides incredible products that help make the government better. We value their partnership, which is why we’re meeting with them,” Gruenbaum said in a statement, adding that “we welcome them working with us to decrease our excessive government spending while continuing to provide the essential services the government needs.”
After the initial high-level meetings with GSA officials, consulting executives are being asked to return with presentations providing a detailed assessment of their projects. Gruenbaum said in a statement that the spending reviews are necessary because of soaring government debt.