The General Services Administration has suspended any new GSA-funded obligations, including new awards, task and delivery orders, modifications and options until further notice.

GSA acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian wrote in a memo from Jan. 24 that there are nine exceptions to this suspension of acquisitions.

“This short-term pause will permit the new leadership to understand key acquisition actions, commitments, and approaches and help direct any needed course corrections,” Ehikian wrote. “All other obligations and/or award actions will require review and approval of the acting administrator or designee before the acquisition action can be awarded.”

At the same time, Lt. Gen. Laura Potter, director of the Army staff, issued a memo Jan. 23 causing confusion about whether the service is also suspending all contracting actions or just those related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, critical race theory, climate and climate change, transgender and abortion policies.

Potter wrote that the “assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA/ALT) shall establish an operating planning team to review all solicitations/request for proposals, requests for information, grant application proposals (GAPs) and notice of funding opportunities (NOFOs) and make recommendations to revise, suspend, freeze or cancel.”

Army memo causes confusion

She also said the ASA/ALT shall immediately identify and recommend freezing or suspending all solicitations, RFIs, GAPs or NOFOs associated with, but not limited to, the following areas: Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, critical race theory, climate and climate change, transgender and abortion policies.

Potter said by April 30 the ASA/ALT shall make recommendations to revise, suspend, freeze or cancel these acquisition efforts.

Sources say Potter’s memo doesn’t make it clear whether this review and freeze is just for certain contracts or all contracts.

For example, the Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal sent a note to industry saying that on Friday it put an “immediate hold on all new solicitations and contract awards as well as any modifications to existing efforts involving funding, until further notice.

ACC-DTA didn’t reference DEIA or any other “controversial” topics.

“Rest assured that this hold does not affect performance on existing contracts and task orders,” the memo stated. “Additional guidance is anticipated this week and any updates will be provided as soon as possible.”

DoD says no contracting pause

The Defense Department issued a statement late on Tuesday saying they didn’t pause any contract actions.

“The department continues to award new contracts to fulfill validated mission needs. While we are not aware of any specific contracts or other activities affected, it is possible that activities may be paused if they are determined to fall within the bounds of the guidance. We look forward to providing more details regarding this matter as they develop and become available,” a senior Defense official said in a statement.

But when asked if this statement applied to all of DoD, including the Army, or just the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Fourth Estate, a spokesperson deferred the question to the service.

The service told other news outlets that there was no blanket pause on contracts.

One industry expert, who requested anonymity, said these memos are causing confusion across industry.

“Most administrations have used the federal procurement systems to promote larger policy priorities. The Biden administration did so aggressively, and the Trump administration is moving quickly to reverse the Biden priorities — and to put its own stamp on acquisition,” the expert said. “This appears to be just an opening salvo in administration efforts to put its own stamp on federal acquisition. In just two weeks, we have seen a wide range of initiatives that can have significant impacts on federal contracting, including launching the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), calling for acquisition reform, rolling back DEI and environmental policies in acquisition, and freezing government hiring. Agencies across the government appear to be moving quickly to ensure that the administration’s DEI policy goals are reflected in federal procurement — or more accurately, that DEI policies are not included in contracts. Will some of the contracting set-aside policies be next?”

GSA details exceptions

While the Army’s memo leaves a lot of room for interpretation, GSA directive is clear.

Ehikian, who started as the acting administrator on Jan. 20, wrote the exceptions to this contract freeze include contracting actions to support FEMA, new awards for offers, modifications and options under the Federal Supply Schedule other than in support of DEI and all options, bridges and extensions or services keeping buildings operational, such as maintenance, custodial and landscaping/snow services.

These contracting changes come as the Trump administration tried to freeze all grants, loans and other financial assistance programs. But late on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the funding freeze only minutes before it was scheduled to take effect.

Similar to the Army’s memo, the vaguely worded memo on grants and loans issued by the Office of Management and Budget, combined with incomplete answers from the White House throughout the day, left lawmakers, public officials and average Americans struggling to figure out what programs would be affected by the pause. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services.

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