GSA Administrator nominee Emily Murphy will have her official Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, a positive sign that the agency is moving closer to getting a permanent chief.  Murphy will likely be asked about a variety of Public Building Service issues, including the Washington, D.C. Trump Hotel lease with GSA and the failed FBI headquarters project.  Acquisition questions will likely take a back seat to these higher profile issues.  Still, Murphy may get questions on GSA’s Transactional Data Reporting pilot and, quite likely, on how she might implement the commercial e-commerce language contained in the pending FY’18 defense authorization bill.  Murphy has wide-spread support from industry and government officials owing to her substantial experience on the acquisition side of GSA’s portfolio and her often-underestimated political acumen.  Her confirmation hearing will likely be the site of very few fireworks.  More likely, however, is that Senators may place a “hold” on her nomination afterward to express concern with the above-referenced PBS issues.  Still, Allen Federal believes that Murphy should be given a chance to quickly take the reins of GSA and that she will be an excellent Administrator.