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HUD joining GSA centralized acquisition services pilot

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The Department of Housing and Urban Development is the third agency to move its contracting for common goods and services to the General Services Administration.

HUD joined the Office of Personnel Management and the Small Business Administration in using GSA’s Office of Centralized Acquisition Services for buying things like IT services, office management or medical supplies under the category management initiative.

“We’ve been on a journey to design a scalable, efficient acquisition structure that consolidates the procurement of common goods and services across government at the enterprise level. What does this mean? It means that we’re going to be leveraging our multiple award schedules, our governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) and shared services as the backbone of federal procurement,” said Tom Meiron, the assistant commissioner for OCAS, at a Federal Acquisition Service town hall on Wednesday, a recording of which Federal News Network obtained. “We’ll be consolidating spend across governmentwide categories and moving to eliminate duplicative contracts. “We’ll be driving efficiencies by phasing out redundant contracts and leaning into shared services, integrating policy and common support functions. OCAS is delivering on this vision by shifting common contract workload away from agencies so that they can focus primarily on their mission-specific, complex requirements that support their agencies.”

GSA says the initial pilots with OPM and SBA are already showing promise.

Laura Stanton, the deputy commissioner of FAS, said GSA’s efforts to buy common goods and services for OPM and SBA are 37% more efficient than what the agencies did on their own.

Since March, GSA is managing more than 908 contracts worth $1.5 billion from OPM and SBA. OCAS now includes more than 120 contracting officers.

“We’ve achieved $6.5 million in savings through increased visibility and reduced software license and support services spent. How did we do that? $5.3 million came from optimizing Microsoft licenses for SBA, and another $1.2 million came from eliminating unneeded services,” Meiron said. “Before the transfer of the contracts to OCAS for support, OPM and SBA used GSA vehicles less than 30% of the time for their requirements, and used best-in-class contracts and GWACs less than 20%. Post transfers, 75% of those requirements now run through our schedules and our GWACs.”

GSA set up OCAS over the last several months in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order from March to consolidate the buying of common goods and services.  The Office of Management and Budget followed up with a memo in June, telling agencies to increase the use of centralized contracts managed by GSA and to centralize procurement functions at GSA when it “promotes greater economy and efficiency.”

“Use of GSA’s best-in-class contracts (BICs) and other governmentwide contracts has produced significant savings and cost avoidance, including an average savings rate of 38% for certain types of IT hardware and savings of $150 million in fiscal 2024 for identity protection services,” OMB stated in the memo. “Despite GSA’s successes, less than 20% of common spend currently goes through GSA.”

Source: OMB June 2025 memo.

As part of that executive order, GSA created OCAS and submitted a procurement consolidation plan to OMB.

Meiron said that GSA is waiting for OMB’s approval to finalize the standup of OCAS.

“We need to complete our contract transitions for the remaining pilot agencies and validate a repeatable model to expand across more agencies,” he said. “We will continue our agency engagement, explaining our processes, sharing lessons learned, listening to their feedback and fielding all of their queries. We will also continue to pilot artificial intelligence and automation solutions to help manage our capacity constraints and speed up our acquisition timelines.”

The future design of OCAS includes six functional offices to focus on operations, acquisition delivery, acquisition talent, compliance, customer engagement and program performance.

“This is a significant change, not just for FAS, but for the entire federal procurement ecosystem. We’re building the structure, the workforce and the tools to deliver centralized acquisition at scale together,” he said. “We’re shaping how the government buys common goods and services for the years to come. We’re saving taxpayer dollars, reducing duplication and we’re enabling agencies to focus on where it matters most, the crucial components of their mission.”

GO.gov is a go in November

Along those same consolidation lines, GSA also said its new travel management system, called GO.gov, is expected to go live with its first set of agency customers in November.

GSA awarded IBM a 15-year, $930.5 million contract in November and renamed the platform GO.gov in July.

GSA says that GO.gov is expected to save up to $131 million in related travel savings annually, and approximately $2 billion in administrative efficiencies over the life of the contract, by driving use of government-negotiated discounts.

Christina Kingsland, FAS’s assistant commissioner for the Office of Travel, Transportation and Logistics, said they are on track to implement GO.gov across all civilian agencies by the spring of 2027, well ahead of when the current E-Gov Travel Service 2 contract expires in December of that year.

“The first agencies, including GSA, go live in November,” Kingsland said. “We have signed memorandums of understanding from every agency. That commits them to the dates, and which tranche they are going to be onboarding, so that’ll keep us on track. We have a phased approach to onboard all of the agencies into the system before that contract expires. Initial operating capability agencies go first, not quite the full operating capability, so what you will see as a GSA employee will look different in the future.”

Along with GSA, Kingsland said the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) will also be in the first set of agencies moving to GO.gov.

She said the transition path for all agencies will include milestones along the way, including preparation and testing of the new system, closeout of the old one and ensuring that integration runs smoothly.

“The e-gov travel team is beginning to engage with agencies on a weekly basis about one year before their scheduled deployment date. And then about six months before, the technical configuration work with IBM, who manages the back end for GO.gov, starts,” she said. “Each agency is working through a project plan with some flexibility to customize their own critical milestones. But, of course, change management and the communication-related work is absolutely critical, and runs throughout the entire transition.”

The post HUD joining GSA centralized acquisition services pilot first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Trans-Identified Attorney Goes Berserk in Oklahoma Courtroom, Screams “I Can’t Breathe,” and Demands a Female Officer While Resisting Arrest After Playing the “Trans” Victim Card (VIDEO)

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4 seconds ago

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April 19, 2026

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Courtroom scene showing a man in a suit interacting with officers, while another man is restrained, depicting a tense legal situation.Courtroom scene showing a man in a suit interacting with officers, while another man is restrained, depicting a tense legal situation.Chaos erupts inside an Oklahoma courtroom as attorney Rob Hopkins is restrained by deputies after being held in contempt.

A transgender Oklahoma attorney representing a mother in a bitter child custody battle was arrested after repeatedly clashing with the judge, triggering a chaotic scene that ended with contempt charges, resistance, and a dramatic removal from the courtroom.

According to The Oklahoma Post, attorney Rob Hopkins, who was representing Julie Ann Kramer in an ongoing custody dispute, was taken into custody by order of Judge Laurie Jackson after repeatedly interrupting proceedings and refusing to comply with courtroom decorum.

The viral footage shows Hopkins repeatedly interrupting the judge, smirking at the bench, and eventually throwing a phone in a fit of rage.

The courtroom video began when Hopkins repeatedly spoke over Judge Laurie Jackson, refusing to yield the floor despite multiple warnings.

Judge Laurie Jackson: “You interrupt me one more time, you are being held in indirect contempt of court.”

Rather than de-escalate, Hopkins continued to argue, insisting the judge was refusing to hear the case properly and challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

At one point, the situation escalated further when Hopkins appeared to knock a phone off the bench, prompting the judge to warn about courtroom conduct as tensions rose.

The situation took an even more bizarre turn when Hopkins suddenly injected identity politics into the confrontation. Instead of acting like a professional, Hopkins attempted to hide behind her identity, suggesting the judge was only being harsh because she is a “transgender attorney.”

Rob Hopkins:
Or maybe because I’m a transgender attorney practicing all over the state.

Judge Laurie Jackson:
I don’t know what you are.

Rob Hopkins:
You do, ma’am. You do.

Judge Laurie Jackson:
I don’t know what you do.

Rob Hopkins:
You do.

Judge Laurie Jackson:
Other than you have just now—

Rob Hopkins:
No, ma’am, you do.

Judge Laurie Jackson:
It doesn’t have anything to do—

Rob Hopkins:
It’s happened when we talked on the phone.

Judge Laurie Jackson:
That wasn’t talking, let me tell you. You were entirely inappropriate.

Rob Hopkins:
You were yelling at me, and I did not even know you were the judge.

Judge Laurie Jackson:
And I didn’t know you from Adam.

Rob Hopkins:
I said, “My name is Rob Hopkins. I’m an attorney in Oklahoma City.”

Judge Laurie Jackson:
No, sir, you did not.

The situation turned from combative to theatrical when Hopkins was ordered into custody for direct contempt.

As deputies attempted to lead her away, Hopkins began a bizarre performance, screaming “Do not hurt me!” and “You just kicked me!” despite the video showing officers simply trying to secure her hands.

Hopkins began shrieking, “I can’t breathe!” and “I can’t move!” while writhing on the floor.

Hopkins then demanded a “female officer,” apparently deciding in the heat of the moment that only a woman should be allowed to touch her.

Hopkins was hit with a $25,000 bond and later faced an additional charge for resisting arrest, according to The Oklahoma Post.

The post Trans-Identified Attorney Goes Berserk in Oklahoma Courtroom, Screams “I Can’t Breathe,” and Demands a Female Officer While Resisting Arrest After Playing the “Trans” Victim Card (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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President Trump SHUTS DOWN Media Hysteria as Democrats MELT DOWN After He LEGALLY Casts Mail-In Ballot in Florida

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10 seconds ago

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April 19, 2026

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Donald Trump seated at a meeting with American flags in the background, discussing key issues with advisors.Donald Trump seated at a meeting with American flags in the background, discussing key issues with advisors.President Trump shuts down media hysteria after casting a legal mail-in ballot

The Left and their media allies are once again in full meltdown mode, this time over President Donald Trump doing something completely legal, completely logical, and fully consistent with the very election safeguards he’s been fighting to implement.

President Trump calmly dismantled the latest fake narrative during a roundtable discussion, where reporters attempted to manufacture outrage over his use of a mail-in ballot in Florida’s recent special election.

During Thursday’s roundtable, the President didn’t hold back when Jim Acosta’s girlfriend, Liz Landers of PBS, tried to grill him on his decision to vote by mail.

Trump dismantled the narrative that there is any comparison between a President using a legal, requested absentee ballot and the Democrats’ push for mass, unverified mail-in chaos.

Trump laid it out crystal clear for anyone with a functioning brain:

“Tell me about mail-in ballots, go ahead. You mean I used a mail-in ballot? You probably said yeah, I did. You know why? Because I’m President of the United States. And because of the fact that I’m President of the United States, I did a mail-in ballot for elections that took place in Florida because I felt I should be here instead of being in the beautiful sunshine taking— But you were in Palm Beach, sir, the last few weekends. That’s right.

And I, yeah, and I decided that I was going to vote by mail-in ballot because I couldn’t be there. Because I had a lot of different things. But, you know, we have exceptions for mail-in ballots. You do know that, right?

So if you’re away, we have an exception. If you’re in the military, we have an exception. If you’re on a business trip, we have an exception. If you’re disabled, we have an exception. And if you’re ill, if you’re not feeling good. So I was away mostly in Washington, D.C., so I used a mail-in ballot. But I appreciate the question because I know, I know it was so well-meaning.”

Truth bomb dropped. The President of the United States has national security duties, White House obligations, and a country to run. He wasn’t lounging on the beach — he was working for YOU, the American people.

And the rapid response team nailed it perfectly:

“Is Jim @Acosta’s girlfriend @ElizLanders unable to read? If she had basic comprehension skills, she’d know the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for military service, illness, disability, and travel. And he’s the President of the United States.”

WATCH:

Corporate media outlets and Democrat politicians rushed to label Trump a “hypocrite,” pushing the same tired talking point that he opposes mail-in voting while using it himself.

But here’s what they conveniently ignore: Trump has NEVER opposed legal, limited, and controlled absentee voting, according to a spokesperson who told ABC News.

He has consistently drawn a clear distinction between:

  • Targeted absentee/mail-in ballots (with safeguards)
  • Mass, universal mail-in voting (with no accountability)

Even the White House reiterated that Trump supports “commonsense exceptions” for mail-in ballots—specifically for:

  • Military personnel
  • Illness or disability
  • Travel or work obligations

Trump, who spends most of his time in Washington, D.C. fulfilling presidential duties, used that exact legal framework.

That’s not hypocrisy. That’s following the law as written.

Absentee ballots for the military in the United States go back much further than most people realize.

The first official, legalized absentee voting for military members began in 1813, when Pennsylvania allowed soldiers in the War of 1812 to vote while away.

The system expanded dramatically during the Civil War (1861–1865):

  • Many states passed laws so Union soldiers could vote from the battlefield.
  • By the 1864 presidential election, most Union states allowed absentee voting for troops.

So here’s the obvious question: If soldiers risking their lives overseas have long been allowed to vote absentee… why wouldn’t the Commander-in-Chief, responsible for leading them, be afforded the same right?

The answer is simple: he is. And he used it legally.

Let’s be honest about what’s really driving this outrage.

Trump’s push for election integrity, particularly the SAVE America Act, has Democrats panicking.

The legislation:

  • Requires proof of citizenship to vote
  • Requires voter ID
  • Limits mass mail-in ballots
  • Preserves absentee voting for legitimate cases

In other words, it restores confidence in elections while protecting access for those who truly need it.

And that’s exactly why the Left is losing it.

The post President Trump SHUTS DOWN Media Hysteria as Democrats MELT DOWN After He LEGALLY Casts Mail-In Ballot in Florida appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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BREAKING: ICE Agent Saves Baby’s Life in TSA Line at JFK Airport, Performs Heimlich Maneuver on Unresponsive Infant (VIDEO)

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20 seconds ago

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April 19, 2026

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Crowd of people gathered in a public space, some engaged in conversation, highlighting social interaction and community dynamics.

Crowd of people gathered in a public space, some engaged in conversation, highlighting social interaction and community dynamics.

An ICE agent saved a baby’s life in a TSA line at New York’s JFK Airport on Wednesday.

The Democrats have repeatedly voted to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security and TSA.

Major airports across the US are experiencing delays due to TSA staffing issues.

President Trump deployed ICE agents to airports across the country to help travelers swiftly get through security lines after Democrats blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

One of the ICE agents deployed to JFK saved a baby’s life.

An infant was unresponsive and wasn’t breathing when an ICE agent jumped into action and performed the Heimlich maneuver on the baby.

“DHS tells Fox News that an ICE agent saved the life of a 1-year-old boy who had gone unresponsive and wasn’t breathing while waiting in a TSA line at JFK airport yesterday.

Full statement from the DHS:

At JFK Airport, as travelers waited in hours-long lines, an infant became unresponsive and stopped breathing. The panic of the child’s family and nearby passengers were heard by an ICE agent stationed at a checkpoint.

This heroic officer immediately sprang into action—rushing toward the cries, taking the child, and performing a Heimlich maneuver that restored the infant’s breathing after nearly two minutes.

This officer’s extraordinary bravery embodies the selfless service of DHS law enforcement.

Video released by the DHS shows the agent running to help the baby.

WATCH:

The post BREAKING: ICE Agent Saves Baby’s Life in TSA Line at JFK Airport, Performs Heimlich Maneuver on Unresponsive Infant (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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