October 23, 2025
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When the federal government reopens after a prolonged shutdown, agencies won’t simply flip a switch and resume business as usual. According to Gordon Bitko, Executive Vice President for Public Sector at ITI and former Chief Information Officer at the FBI, the real challenge will be sorting through a patchwork of progress — and uncertainty — that’s built up during the closure.
Bitko tells Fed Gov Today host Francis Rose that uncertainty is the single biggest problem facing both agencies and contractors during an extended shutdown. “How long will it last? What does it mean for contracts that were negotiated but can’t be supported? What happens to planned technology rollouts or organizational changes?” he asks. A short disruption can be managed, Bitko says, but as time drags on, the ripple effects grow harder to control. Projects stall, staff lose momentum, and the private sector struggles to plan around a government that’s effectively on pause.
He adds that the uncertainty doesn’t just affect technology and contracts—it affects people. The workforce that returns after the shutdown may not look the same as before. Bitko notes that many experienced federal employees have retired or left government service, and contracting officers may have moved on to other roles. “Experience matters,” he says. “When you haven’t been through a shutdown, it’s stressful and confusing. Knowing how to navigate that landscape is something you only learn by doing.”
That loss of institutional memory comes at a critical time. Bitko highlights several major government transformation efforts that are midstream — including the rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the implementation of artificial intelligence.
Bitko praises the FAR Council and GSA for the speed and ambition of their ongoing rewrite of procurement regulations, calling it “truly amazing.” He says that if the effort delivers on its promise, it could reshape the government’s relationship with industry for decades. For the first time in two generations, the government is rethinking its acquisition rules from top to bottom — streamlining decades of incremental changes into something more adaptable and aligned with commercial best practices. “It’s an opportunity to take advantage of industry innovation instead of reinventing everything uniquely for government,” Bitko says.
Still, he warns that regaining momentum after the shutdown will take work. Some projects will have advanced while others stood still, creating an uneven landscape that leaders will have to realign. “The biggest challenge will be figuring out, of the work you left behind, where is it?” he says. “Agencies are big, complicated beasts, and getting all those pieces working together again will take time.”
His advice to leaders is simple but vital: communicate constantly. Whether with internal staff, contractors, or leadership teams, transparency about progress and next steps will be key to rebuilding trust, focus, and forward motion. “The most important thing leaders can do,” Bitko emphasizes, “is communicate in as many ways as possible to help everyone understand where things stand and what’s next.”
As agencies reopen, Bitko’s message is clear — recovery isn’t automatic. It requires coordination, patience, and above all, leadership willing to confront uncertainty head-on and turn it into opportunity.