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Ranking members of the House Oversight Committee are beginning to investigate whether the General Services Department has given priority treatment to technology startups competing for advantageous government contracts. The startup is supported by some of President Donald Trump’s most influential Silicon Valley allies.
The committee’s lawsuit follows a report by Propublica last month, revealing that GSA is focusing on New York-based payments company RAMP to remake the massive $700 billion federal credit card program known as SmartPay. Our report shows that senior GSA officials met with lamp executives at least four times before revealing the SmartPay contract opportunity.
Ethics experts flagged the early meetings as abnormal and potentially problematic. GSA insiders told Propublica that internally the lamp is considered a clear favourite for the first $25 million pilot contract and could serve as an introduction to the larger SmartPay work. No contracts for the pilot program have been awarded yet.
Trump Team Eyes Overhaul a $700 Billion Government Payment Program to Political-Based Startups
The letter sent to the GSA on Friday was D-Va. The letter, sent by Rep. Gerald Connolly and reviewed by committee Democrats, says he wants information about the GSA’s deal with “a company with zero experience in federal contracts supported by prominent Trump supporters, Trump’s family ties and Elon Musk’s allies.”
Connolly’s letter requires an array of GSA documents, including “all communications between GSA officials, contractors or subcontractors, and representatives of the lamp.”
Lamp did not respond to requests for comment regarding the investigation.
The GSA did not respond to questions on Friday. Asked about the lamp in the previous article, a GSA spokesman told Propublica that the agency “refutes proposals of unfair or preferential contract practices,” and that “credit card reform initiatives are well known to the public for addressing waste, fraud and abuse.”
SmartPay, which provides visas and Mastercard charging cards to government employees, allows the federal workforce to purchase office supplies and equipment, book, and pay for gas. Cards are typically used to purchase up to $10,000.
Sources within the GSA said Trump appointees, including deputy manager Stephen Ehikian and Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum, the nation’s top procurement officer, have been caught up in the role of SmartPay and other government payment programs being full of fraud and waste.
However, GOP and Democrat budget experts both call this view an inaccurate one, saying SmartPay implements effective safeguards and surveillance tools.
SmartPay is worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the costs of the financial institutions currently operating, US banks and Citibanks. GSA will decide by the end of the year whether to extend SmartPay with its current agreement or to remake the program more fundamentally.
Lamp investors include Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures. For example, a billionaire venture capitalist who provided important early support for Trump and spent millions on Vice President J.D. Vance, Ohio Senator. Other major supporters include Keith Rabois from Khosla Ventures. The prosperity of the capital was founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. 8VC, a company run by Musk and Trump’s allies.
In late April, as the GSA won the business pitch with the SmartPay Pilot Program, Ramp CEOs Eric Glyman and Rabois appeared at a well-known conference in Washington, bringing together technology entrepreneurs, lawmakers and other government officials.
During a live-streamed panel entitled “First Principles for a Smarter, Slimier Government,” the pair was touted as a transformative solution for government payments. Later in an interview, Labour pointed out the fact that SmartPay issues more billing cards than there are general government officials as evidence of fraud.
However, SmartPay experts say this betrays a fundamental misconception about how the program works. Employees are issued individual cards for different types of purchases, often holding multiple cards at once.
Labois did not answer questions from Propublica on Friday. In his response to a previous story, Labour said it was “not involved in government-related initiatives.”
In a letter to the Oversight Committee to the GSA, Connolly wrote, “The Trump administration’s false claims about the Smart Pay program could be an attempt to distrust the program to provide new, Trump-affiliated contracts.”
