Yesterday, the new administration issued a new Executive Order (EO) officially requiring a reformation of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and a thorough review of the federal procurement system in general. Along with related EOs, they direct the Office of Federal Public Procurement Policy (OFPP), the FAR Council, and the heads of and “senior acquisition and procurement officials” from our federal agencies to create the “FAR 2.0”–as it has aptly been deemed. And they have 180 days to do it.
Indeed, the EO issued yesterday, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, calls attention to federal procurement regulations, as well as federal procurement procedures and policies more generally. This is not the first EO calling for big changes to our federal government–and likely won’t be the last (you can read about some prior EOs by the new administration here and here).
Yesterday’s EO–“Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement”–notes that the “Federal Government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world[.]” But it also cautions, “conducting business with the Federal Government is often prohibitively inefficient and costly.”
Giving a brief history, the EO explains that the FAR was originally implemented over 40 years ago “to establish uniform procedures for acquisitions across executive departments and agencies[,]” with a “vision” to “deliver on a timely basis the best value product or service to the customer, while maintaining the public’s trust and fulfilling public policy objectives[,]” which is stated in part one of the FAR itself.
But it is clear from the EO that the new administration is concerned with the FAR’s ability to meet these driving policies and visions, as it stands today. It states:
[S]ince its inception, the FAR has swelled to more than 2,000 pages of regulations, evolving into an excessive and overcomplicated regulatory framework and resulting in an onerous bureaucracy.
Federal procurement under the FAR receives consistently negative assessments regarding its efficiency.
Citing studies–like the 2024 Senate committee report, “Restoring Freedom’s Forge” and the Advisory Panel on Streamlining and Codifying Acquisition Regulations’ 2019 report–the EO says that the “experts in acquisition and procurement policy” have concluded “the FAR is a barrier to, rather than a prudent vehicle for, doing business with the Federal Government.” According to the EO,
the FAR’s harmful effects permeate various items paid for by American taxpayers, from commercial products like laptops and office supplies to major defense weapons systems. The management and expenditure of nearly $1 trillion annually in procurements cannot continue on this trajectory.
In response to the identified concerns, the EO provides a plan to fix things, stating, “[f]ortunately, its inadequacies are self-inflicted and can be remedied through a comprehensive reform of the FAR.” The EO reiterates the new administration’s policy, established by prior EOs, “to be prudent and financially responsible in the expenditure of funds and to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.” And the EO states the opinion that a reformation of the FAR (i.e., the prompt creation of a FAR 2.0) will further such policy. Specifically, the EO states:
It is the policy of the United States to create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible. Removing undue barriers, such as unnecessary regulations, while simultaneously allowing for the expansion of the national and defense industrial bases is paramount. Accordingly, the FAR should contain only provisions required by statute or essential to sound procurement, and any FAR provisions that do not advance these objectives should be removed.
It also gives direct orders to the OFPP to work with the FAR Council, as well as the heads of the federal agencies and their “appropriate senior acquisition and procurement officials[,]” to
take appropriate actions to amend the FAR to ensure that it contains only provisions that are required by statute or that are otherwise necessary to support simplicity and usability, strengthen the efficacy of the procurement system, or protect economic or national security interests.
The EO next addresses the various federal agency “supplements” to the FAR. And it directs each federal agency “exercising procurement authority pursuant to the FAR” to designate a “senior acquisition or procurement official” within 15 days. Such officials are then directed to work with the OFPP and the FAR Council to ensure any agency-specific supplements to the FAR are aligned with the FAR’s reformation. The EO says the OFPP, FAR Council, and designated agency officials “shall collaborate to identify and appropriately address FAR provisions that are inconsistent with the policy objectives described” in the EO.
Within 20 days, the EO requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to consult with the OFPP to “issue a memorandum to agencies that provides guidance regarding implementation of this order.” Regarding this mandated memorandum, the EO states:
That memorandum shall ensure consistency and alignment of policy objectives and implementation regarding changes to the FAR and agencies’ supplemental regulations to the FAR [and] . . . shall propose new agency supplemental regulations and internal guidance that promote expedited and streamlined acquisitions.
Additionally, the EO requires the OFPP to direct all agencies to adhere to the ten-for-one requirement set forth in a previous EO for all such proposals. As a reminder, this requirement essentially requires any agency or executive department publicly proposing for notice and comment or promulgating a new regulation to “identify at least 10 existing regulations to be repealed.” And the EO requires the OFPP and FAR Council to “issue deviation and interim guidance, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, until final rules reforming the FAR are published.”
Finally, the EO states the following requirements:
In amending the FAR under section 4 of this order, the [OFPP], in coordination with the FAR Council, shall:
(a) identify all FAR provisions not required by statute that will remain in the FAR;
(b) consider amending the FAR such that any provisions identified in accordance with subsection (a) of this section will expire 4 years after the effective date of the final rule promulgated in accordance with section 4 of this order unless renewed by the FAR Council; and
(c) consider whether any new FAR provision not required by statute that is promulgated after the effective date of the final rule promulgated in accordance with subsection (b) of this section should include a provision stating that it will expire 4 years after its effective date unless renewed by the FAR Council.
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What this EO will actually bring to–or remove from–the FAR and the federal procurement world is hard to predict at this time. One cannot be sure how the OFPP, FAR Council, and federal agencies will take this EO or what specifically they will do to implement it. I will say, there does seem to be a prevalent opinion in the industry that the FAR (or certain provisions within the FAR) could be clearer, easier to implement and follow, and more efficient. And sometimes, change is good.
But frankly, this EO also has the potential to create, well, chaos, in the world of federal government contracting. Understandably, many contractors and agencies alike are almost certainly on the edge of their seats, wondering which rules will continue to apply and which will vanish in the next six months. The answer to that question has the potential to seriously impact all federal contracts, solicitations, etc. The FAR may be wordy and overly complex–in many people’s opinions–but it has provided the governing regulations for procurements for nearly half a century. In the end, contractors and agencies would be wise to keep a very close eye on all developments from this EO. And when “FAR 2.0” is unleashed, everyone in the procurement world will certainly want to pay close attention to it. As always, keep an eye out for our future blogs on the topic. We will keep you posted.
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