December 3, 2025
Federal agencies are in “build back” mode, and Richard Spires frames the moment as both a big opportunity and a major warning. In his conversation with Francis Rose, he says leaders can drive real change right now—but only if they make a fundamental switch in how they view and treat government employees.
Spires starts by looking back to the beginning of this administration and offers what he calls a balanced view. On the positive side, he says he is impressed by the desire to cut bureaucracy and reduce stovepipes. He points to efforts aimed at revising the FAR and getting GSA into a more leveraged position from a buying-power perspective. To him, these moves reflect ideas government talks about for years, and he gives the administration credit for being “hard nosed” about pushing consolidation and breaking down barriers.
To make that concrete, Spires highlights a current example: OPM moving toward a new HR procurement with an audacious goal—consolidating 119 HR systems across the federal government into one. He says it’s a bold target, but it’s the right way to think about modernization. He connects it to his own experience at DHS, where he and then-CHCO Jeff Neal try to consolidate HR systems inside the department. Spires says the DHS attempt doesn’t fail because of technology. Instead, it runs into organizational realities—getting bureaucracies and stovepipes to work together—and later collapses after a leadership vacuum opens.
That leadership point matters to him. Spires explains that while he and Neal are “at the head of the table,” they can herd the cats: they get requirements nailed down and procurement on the street. But after they leave, the vacuum gives space for fears to take over—especially worries about what consolidation means for jobs. He notes that moving from many systems to one leads to fewer jobs or, at minimum, big job changes, and that’s a scary proposition. People resist, sometimes quietly, and he says it takes real, sustained leadership to persevere through that pressure.
Then Spires turns to what he sees as the most damaging part of the build-back equation: the people side. He says he can’t believe the administration could do “worse” in how it treats employees. He references an article he has just seen suggesting 300,000 people leave federal service since the start of the administration. More important than the number, he says, is how many leave feeling bitter—especially technology people—because they feel mistreated. Drawing on what he sees while consulting with OPM early in the administration, he argues that no organization, public or private, should treat people the way he believes they are treated, and he calls it sad because the same reform agenda could land far more positively if it is done right.
When Francis asks how agencies rebuild both connection to employees and disrupted technology, Spires says the situation is not all dire. He sees visionaries and leaders who want to modernize and make a difference, and he believes the moment is “opportune” for real gains. But he returns to his central condition: to succeed, leaders need a fundamental change in how they view government employees.
Spires also responds to the idea of insourcing. He says he reads another article claiming the administration wants to insource more and use contractors less, and he calls that a “complete non starter.” His concern is practical: much of the deep technical talent—especially knowledge of legacy systems—moves to the contractor world, and agencies still rely heavily on contractors to keep systems running.
On acquisition reform, Spires sees clear upside. He says procurement regulations and systems hold government back from moving at the speed it wants. Streamlining through a FAR overhaul and a stronger GSA role could help. But he also flags a real risk: can GSA scale into a more centralized procurement organization that serves a vast number of agencies with the needed quality and speed? He says that concern can be managed if it is identified up front and leaders stay focused.
Finally, he talks about how technology leaders measure progress. He starts with morale, saying it is likely “relatively low,” and argues agencies need steps to reverse it. He also insists that plans still matter. Even with no-code/low-code tools and AI, he says government still runs major legacy systems that require real modernization plans over three, four, or five years. He wants clear milestones—beyond big slogans—and says he would like to see OMB drive planning and hold agencies accountable for hitting those milestones.
Spires sums up build back as a chance to modernize fast, consolidate strategically, and move procurement faster—but only if leaders commit to sustained leadership and rebuild trust with the workforce that has to carry the mission.