Summary
- Trump appointed Mike Rigas as acting administrator of
the General Services Administration (GSA). - Rigas, a Trump veteran, assumes the role to oversee GSA
and control agency leadership. - Move seen as effort to rein in Musk-aligned officials
Stephen Ehikian and Josh Gruenbaum. - Change marks a shift away from Elon Musk loyalists’
influence in federal agencies. - White House has not yet commented on the leadership
change.
In a statement to GSA employees Monday morning,
Rigas, a veteran of the Trump administration who previously held the positions
of interim director of the Office of Personnel Management and deputy secretary
of State for Management and Resources, announced the decision.
“Today, at the direction of President Donald J.
Trump, I have assumed the responsibilities of Acting Administrator of GSA,”
Rigas wrote.
The White House’s decision to select Gruenbaum,
the Federal Acquisition Service commissioner at GSA, and Ehikian, the former
acting administrator, is seen by GSA employees and those close to the
Department of Government Efficiency as a calculated move. According to three
people who were provided anonymity to talk openly and who are familiar with the
inner workings of DOGE and GSA, they were selected by Steve Davis, DOGE’s
former operational lead, to lead DOGE when Davis and Elon Musk departed
government.
GSA, one of the two government organizations
Musk was most near to taking over early this year, has seen a significant
change in leadership.
Additionally, it’s the most important public
action the White House has made to lessen the influence of Musk supporters
since the tech tycoon’s departure.
A request for comment was not immediately
answered by the White House.
Davis had a falling out with top White House
officials last month, despite his efforts to maintain power at GSA after
leaving office. When the White House learned of Davis’ attempts in mid-June,
discussions began to locate a new acting administrator, according to one of the
sources.
In a nod to DOGE’s work, Rigas emphasized that
the agency will continue to prioritize the mission of being good stewards of
taxpayer dollars.
“This means helping other agencies be as
effective and efficient as possible in their acquisition of goods and services,
their use of technology, and their use and disposal of real property,”
he
wrote.
Rigas began his third term at GSA on Monday. The
internal note states that Ehikian will continue to serve as the agency’s deputy
administrator.
According to agency records, GSA has also added
two new employees in the past two weeks: Kevin Hennecken, an investment analyst
at BlackRock, and Doug Hoelscher of the America First Policy Institute.
What impact might these appointments have on the
operations and priorities of the General Services Administration?
The recent appointments in the General Services
Administration (GSA), including Mike Rigas as acting administrator and figures
like Stephen Ehikian and Josh Gruenbaum in leadership roles, coincide with a
strategic shift in the agency’s operations and priorities toward efficiency,
consolidation, and technology-driven modernization.
Following the March 2025 Executive Order by
President Trump, GSA’s role is expanding to consolidate federal acquisition of
“common goods and services” and information technology contracts
government-wide. This elevates GSA as the centralized hub for procurement,
aiming to eliminate waste and duplication across federal agencies.
Under acting head Stephen Ehikian, GSA is entering
a phase that focuses on streamlining workflows, restructuring the workforce,
and transitioning to a more centralized operational model. The agency seeks to
act “more like a business,” emphasizing operational efficiency with a strong
focus on savings for the taxpayer.
