Latest news with #Gruenbaum
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump admin asking federal agencies to cancel remaining Harvard contracts
The Trump administration is asking all federal agencies to find ways to terminate all federal contracts with Havard University amid an ongoing standoff over foreign students' records at the Ivy League school. The General Services Administration is planning to send a letter Tuesday instructing all federal agencies to review the estimated $100 million remaining in federal contracts with Harvard and potentially "find alternative vendors," according to a copy of the letter obtained by Fox News. The remaining federal contracts include a $527,000 agreement for Harvard ManageMentor Licenses, which was awarded in September 2021, a $523,000 contract for Harvard to conduct research on energy drinks and the health outcomes of other dietary intakes overtime, which was awarded in August 2023, and a $39,000 contract for gradate student research services, which was award in April 2025, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. Trump Accuses Harvard Of Being 'Very Slow' To Turn Over Foreign Student Info The New York Times first reported about a draft of the letter. In the letter, GSA's Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum said Harvard "continues to engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life." Read On The Fox News App He said Harvard has shown "no indication" of reforming its admissions process, despite the Supreme Court ruling that university's long-standing policy discriminates on the basis of race. For applicants in the top academic decile, admissions rates were 56% for African-Americans, 31% for Hispanics, 15% for Whites and 13% for Asians, according to the lawsuit. Gruenbaum said Harvard "now has to offer a remedial math course, which has been described as 'middle school math' for incoming freshmen." He said that was a direct result "of employing discriminatory factors, instead of merit, in admission decisions." Gruenbaum also cited possible violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regarding Harvard's hiring, promotion, compensation, and other personnel-related actions. He said discriminatory practices "have been exposed at the Harvard Law Review, where internal documents that have been made public detail the pervasive and explicit racial discrimination in the publication's article selection and editor appointment process." "GSA is also aware of recent events at Harvard University involving anti-Semitic action that suggest the institution has a disturbing lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students," Gruenbaum wrote. "Harvard's ongoing inaction in the face of repeated and severe harassment and targeting of its students has at times grounded day-to-day campus operations to a halt, deprived Jewish students of learning and research opportunities to which they are entitled, and profoundly alarmed the general public." Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard University for comment Tuesday. Harvard has already sued in federal court seeking the restoration of about $3.2 billion in federal grant funding already frozen by the administration since last month. In a separate suit, the university was granted a temporary restraining order on Friday that temporarily blocks the government from canceling the school's certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The program permits the university to host international students with F-1 or J-1 visas to study in the U.S. Harvard said the revocation would impact more than 7,000 visa holders – more than a quarter of its student body. A brief federal court hearing was held Tuesday morning in federal court in Boston on the matter. A judge scheduled another hearing for Thursday to allow both parties more time to present their case. President Donald Trump said in a TRUTH Social post on Monday that he is "considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land." "What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!" he wrote. Judge Temporarily Pauses Trump Move To Cancel Harvard Student Visa Policy After Lawsuit The president also accused Harvard of being "very slow" in handing over documents about foreign students and of having "shopped around and found the absolute best judge (for them)." Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said last week that she revoked Harvard's certification after the university refused to comply with multiple requests for information on foreign students while "perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist 'diversity, equity and inclusion' policies." The requested records include any and all audio or video footage in Harvard's possession regarding threats to other students or university personnel, "deprivation of rights" of other classmates or university personnel, and "dangerous or violent activity, whether on or off campus" by a nonimmigrant student enrolled at Harvard in the last five years. Noem is also asking for any and all disciplinary records and audio or video footage of any protest activity involving nonimmigrant students. DHS said that Harvard's responses so far have been insufficient. Fox News' Sarah Tobianski contributed to this article source: Trump admin asking federal agencies to cancel remaining Harvard contracts
Straits Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Trump to end federal contracts with Harvard university
Harvard is the oldest and richest US university with a US$53 billion endowment. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration is moving to cancel all remaining federal contracts with Harvard University, worth an estimated US$100 million (S$128 million), in the latest escalation of its battle against the Ivy League institution. Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum, in a letter seen by Bloomberg News, is directing federal agencies to review their contracts, terminate those that they deem not critical and transition to other vendors if necessary. 'The US General Services Administration (GSA) is assisting all federal agencies in a review for termination or transition of their federal government contracts with Harvard University and affiliates,' the letter says. 'This review aligns with the Administration's directive that all federal contracted services steadfastly uphold and advance agency strategic priorities.' The letter asks agencies to report on their 'actions or intended actions with respect to each referenced contract' by June 6. The value of the contracts was detailed by a person familiar, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's moves. The letter was first reported by the New York Times. Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration has already moved to freeze funding and block Harvard's ability to enroll international students in an intensifying battle over what the president has cast as a failure by the university and other academic institutions to crack down on anti-Semitism. Administration officials have been using that rationale to pressure schools to institute wide policy changes that university officials say infringe on free speech and their academic missions. Harvard has been front and center in Mr Trump's campaign, with the administration already suspending more than US$2.6 billion in federal research money and saying the school won't be able to receive new funding. Mr Trump has repeatedly called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, citing political bias. Harvard is the oldest and richest US university with a US$53 billion endowment. The government has sought a series of changes as a condition of continuing its financial relationship with the university. It has demanded the university remake its governance, transform admissions and faculty hiring – which the administration has called discriminatory – as well as stop admitting international students who officials say are hostile to American values. Mr Gruenbaum's letter alleges that Harvard has continued to 'engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life' and says that the government is 'aware of recent events at Harvard University involving anti-Semitic action that suggest the institution has a disturbing lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students'. Mr Gruenbaum also referred to alleged discrimination at the prestigious Harvard Law Review. A federal task force recently called out the Harvard Law Review's award of a US$65,000 fellowship to a protester who faced criminal charges for assaulting a Jewish student on campus, a decision that the government claims was 'reviewed and approved' by a faculty committee. The administration has said that Harvard should ensure more diverse viewpoints on a campus that it says leans too liberal. Harvard sued in April. Harvard President Alan Garber has apologised for Harvard's handling of anti-Semitism on campus and acknowledged that he has experienced prejudice himself at the school. But he has also said the extent of the government's demands show that 'the intention is not to work with us to address anti-Semitism'. Mr Garber called the administration's actions 'perplexing' in an interview published by NPR early on May 26, questioning the need to cut off research funding. 'Shutting off that work does not help the country, even as it punishes Harvard, and it is hard to see the link between that and, say, anti-Semitism,' he said. The government has also moved to bar Harvard from enrolling foreign students, but the university won a temporary court order blocking the government from enforcing that ban. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said last week that Harvard's responses to the government's requests to provide information about misconduct by foreign students were insufficient. To regain its program certification, Harvard was given 72 hours to provide six categories of information about foreign students over the past five years, including disciplinary records and video of those engaged in protests. Harvard still hasn't turned over the requested information. Mr Trump on May 26 threatened to also divert billions in grant dollars away from the university. 'I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very anti-Semitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land,' Mr Trump said in a post on social media. 'What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!' BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration tells big consulting firms to cut the 'gobbledygook' and justify their contracts
The General Services Administration has asked consulting firms to justify their government contracts. 10 companies have been asked to submit a spending breakdown that "a 15-year-old" could understand. The GSA told BI it has already cut $4.5 billion worth of consulting contracts under Trump. The Trump administration has asked 10 of the federal government's highest-paid consulting firms to justify their spending on contracts using language stripped of "gobbledygook" that "a 15-year-old should be able to understand." In a letter sent to executives at the 10 firms in recent days, the General Services Administration asked the consultancies to provide a detailed breakdown of the spending on contracts from fiscal years 2019 to 2024. The letter, which Business Insider has seen, says they should then identify waste and spending reduction opportunities. "We believe it is important to undertake this review in partnership with industry," Josh Gruenbaum, the GSA's Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner, wrote in the letter. "To that end, we are now seeking your firm's detailed input on spending broken out by agency, project and category of service, as well as the pricing of such services." Firms were warned not to use any "consultative jargon or gobbledygook" in their responses. "A 15-year-old should be able to understand what service you provide and why it is important," Gruenbaum said. The 10 consulting firms on the list are Deloitte, Accenture Federal Services, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, Leidos, Guidehouse, HII Mission Technologies, Science Applications International, CGI Federal, and IBM. They have until March 31 to respond. The consultancies have three guidelines to follow: identify waste and savings opportunities; break down spending by agency, contract, and project; and detail and make recommendations on pricing "that would lead to savings for the US taxpayer." "Scorecards that do not identify waste and spending reductions will not be deemed credible and your firm will be seen as unaligned with the Administration's cost cutting goals," the letter said. The letter was accompanied by a slide deck template for the firms to use in their responses, which BI has seen. Details that the GSA wants to see include the rationale for any large increases in spend and a list of price reduction opportunities that the consultancies are "prepared to action immediately." Gruenbaum told BI that the GSA's goal was to serve as "unrelenting fiduciaries to the American people" and deliver "the maximum return on investment for their taxpayer dollars." "It's what these firms would do when analyzing their own budgets and we welcome them working with us to decrease our excessive government spending while continuing to provide the essential services the government needs," Gruenbaum said. The Trump administration has already started evaluating its spending on consultants as part of its DOGE-driven agenda to cut costs and boost efficiency. In late February, the GSA asked federal agencies to provide a similar review of contracts with the same 10 consultancies. A source at the GSA told BI that it was always the plan to request contract reviews from both agencies and consulting firms. In the letter, the GSA said it would compare the two responses. Under the Trump administration, the GSA has canceled more than 1,700 contracts, resulting in $4.5 billion in savings, according to internal data the GSA provided to BI. The GSA source added that the organization recognizes many of the services the consulting firms provide — particularly those relating to national security or involving technical skills — are critical to government operations. They said that long-standing IT contracts, which DOGE has frequently targeted on social media, were more likely to be seen as an opportunity for the GSA to find value and savings. Last Thursday, Trump signed an executive order consolidating all IT procurement activities under the GSA. Procurement of other common goods and services will also be centralized into the agency to return it "to its original purpose" as the government's central purchasing arm, a White House directive said. The 10 firms collectively earn tens of billions of dollars annually from their contracts with the federal government, leaving some federal consulting departments shaken by the pressure to justify their value. Workers at Deloitte and Accenture's federal advisory divisions previously told BI that there had been a flood of colleagues looking for projects to work on and that they were worried about layoffs. During Accenture's earnings call last week, CEO Julie Sweet said that DOGE scrutiny had already hit the firm's sales and revenues and slowed procurement of new federal contracts. "We anticipate ongoing uncertainty as the government's priorities evolve and these assessments unfold," Sweet said. Some firms on the list have publicly embraced DOGE's agenda. In an earnings call in February, Thomas Bell, CEO of Leidos Holdings, said that in light of the new administration's priorities, Leidos had developed "fast-paced initiatives in the spirit of DOGE." "We strongly support the goal of creating a dramatically more efficient and effective federal government that costs taxpayers less money," a Leidos spokesperson told BI. The nine other firms who received the GSA's letter did not respond to requests for comment from BI. Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at pthompson@ or Signal at Polly_Thompson.89. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider
New York Times
04-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
General Services Administration Workers Warned of Impending Staff Cuts
Some employees at the General Services Administration were told Tuesday that the department would be cutting staff and reducing its footprint across the country, underscoring the Trump administration's determination to rapidly shrink the size of the federal work force. In an email, Josh Gruenbaum, a Trump appointee who currently helps oversee the G.S.A.'s Federal Acquisition Service, told employees that the organization would be 'cutting redundant business functions and associated staffing' and that the organization would not need workers in 'certain areas of the country.' He also noted that the Federal Acquisition Service, which aids other government agencies in dealing with office supplies, technology and travel needs, would consider utilizing artificial intelligence to reduce costs. His warning came as roughly 2 million federal workers around the country face a looming deadline Thursday to decide whether to accept an offer to resign but be paid through the end of September. Already, tens of thousands of federal workers have submitted their plans to leave, Trump administration officials said Tuesday. Union leaders have urged employees not to accept the offer, questioning its legality and legitimacy. Across the government, federal workers have been bracing for news of how the Trump administration's planned reductions will affect them as agency officials stressed their plans to cut costs. 'We'll be looking at operations in every portfolio to strengthen our business and comply with the directive from the president to reduce the federal work force,' Mr. Gruenbaum wrote in the email, which was seen by The New York Times. 'We can and must make tough decisions to create a leaner and more agile organization.' The G.S.A., which manages the federal government's property portfolio, has about 12,000 workers across the country. On Monday, The Times reported that G.S.A. leaders have discussed eliminating as much as 50 percent of the agency's budget. Mr. Gruenbaum, whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a former director at private equity firm KKR, did not immediately return a request for comment. The G.S.A. did not respond to a request for comment. In recent days, the Office of Personnel Management, the agency overseeing the resignation program, has tried to reassure workers about the legitimacy of the offer. On Tuesday, the agency issued a new memo that said that separation agreements would be legally binding, and that concerns about the legality of the program were 'misplaced.' The agency has also circulated template contracts to federal agencies 'to assuage any concerns about enforceability.' On Tuesday, Mr. Gruenbaum encouraged recipients of the email to 'seriously consider the current offer' for deferred resignations from the Office of Personnel and Management.
