AFTERMATH OF RIOTS WILL IMPACT PACE OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS

Among the many lingering impacts of the sorry scene at the US Capitol January 6th will be a slow-down in the pace of government business, lasting at least for the next two weeks and conceivably through all of January.  It is precisely because the situation is still very much developing that contractors may see an impact.  Cabinet secretaries resigning and the departure of other key personnel are a huge distraction, if nothing else.  Disruptions to internal reporting chains, gaps in those chains, and a tendency to wait until the storm clouds clear on the part of some federal offices will further impact business.  It is a safe bet that each federal agency will also review their own internal security procedures, meaning that key people will be otherwise engaged and unavailable for contractors that want to talk about something other than security.  While progress will continue on existing projects and even planning for new acquisition vehicles, such as GSA’s Polaris, will go on, larger and newer projects may slow down until a new team is in place.  January was already lined up to be a problematic month, with the MLK Jr. holiday falling on the 18th, a holiday for at least local federal workers on January 20th, a planned women’s march soon after, and the annual Right to Life march slated for the end of the month.  It’s tough to focus on acquisition when there is a steady stream of distractions.  Be patient and focus on what may actually move forward.