August 25, 2026
The federal government’s push to overhaul acquisition rules faces an important test as one of the effort’s leaders prepares to leave government. Former Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Joe Jordan says maintaining momentum will depend on institutionalizing reforms and finding leaders willing to continue the work.
Jordan discusses the departure of OFPP Administrator Kevin Rhodes and what it takes to make policy changes last beyond an individual leader’s tenure. He says Rhodes is already ahead of the game because key priorities, including elements of the FAR overhaul and consolidated buying, are moving into regulations and agency practices.
The next challenge is leadership continuity.
Jordan says having a successor who shares many of the same priorities can help reforms survive a transition. He points to his own experience at OFPP and says political appointees can play an important role because they are positioned to challenge ideas, propose alternatives and advocate for those solutions inside the White House and with outside stakeholders.
Jordan hopes the Trump administration finds someone willing to continue advancing elements of the FAR overhaul. While he does not agree with every policy, he credits the administration’s willingness to move quickly rather than spending extended periods discussing potential changes.
That speed is also a defining feature of the FAR overhaul itself.
Jordan says the traditional regulatory process often involves a relatively small group developing reforms, working through the FAR Council and then spending a year or longer on regulatory reviews and discussions. The current approach broadens the group of policy developers and puts changes forward more quickly while inviting stakeholders to respond.
That strategy carries risks because mistakes can be implemented before they are identified, Jordan says, but it also offers significant benefits when the objective is rapid change.
Jordan also highlights another acquisition issue he believes deserves attention: proposed Small Business Administration size standards.
Size standards determine whether a company qualifies as a small business for federal contracting purposes. Jordan says the proposed changes could dramatically increase the revenue thresholds for companies in some industries. For general management consulting services, he says the threshold could rise from $24.5 million to $295 million. For custom computer programming services, he says it could increase from $34 million to $531 million.
Jordan argues those increases could undermine the purpose of federal small business programs by allowing significantly larger companies to qualify.
He encourages members of the government contracting community to examine the proposal and submit comments if they have concerns. Drawing on his experience at SBA and OFPP, Jordan says public comments can influence regulations. Officials can identify unintended consequences, make straightforward corrections or debate competing perspectives before issuing a final rule.
For Jordan, that feedback process matters because businesses at different stages naturally have different interests in where size standards are set.
As federal acquisition policy continues changing, his message centers on maintaining momentum while ensuring the government listens to the community affected by those changes.