GSA eliminates 18F
The office has been deemed “non-critical,” Thomas Shedd, director of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, emailed staff at 1am. The agency’s acting head, Stephen Ehikian, told GSA staff Monday that the agency, which works across the government on tech, procurement and real estate, would be conducting a reduction in force.
Other GSA offices “have already or will be impacted” as part of GSA’s layoffs being done under the direction of the White House, wrote Shedd.
“The 18F Office has been identified as part of this phase of GSA’s Reduction in Force (RIF) as non-critical,” wrote Shedd.
“This decision was made with explicit direction from the top levels of leadership within both the Administration and GSA,” he continued. “There are no other TTS programs impacted at this time, however we anticipate more change in the future.”
The team was founded the same year as the U.S. Digital Service, which has since been transformed into Elon Musk’s DOGE.
Musk has said that he wants to fix the government’s at-times antiquated technology — which featured prominently in the executive order creating the DOGE, too — but legacy staffers at USDS who’ve been working on government tech problems have also been fired or quit in protest.
The billionaire wrote on his social media platform X that 18F and TTS had been “deleted” weeks ago, re-posting another account that called the 18F a “far left government computer office” and pointed to its work on the IRS’ free tax filing system, Direct File.
Other examples of the team’s work include the redesign of a website at the Justice Department on a key disability civil rights law, ada.gov. Last year, the office celebrated its tenth year, highlighting 450 government tech projects it had worked on since its inception under former President Barack Obama. The team’s size has fluctuated over the years, beginning with several dozen staffers and at times growing to well over 100 technologists in its ranks. About 90 people were impacted, two of the affected employees told Nextgov/FCW.
“As federal employees, we don’t have conflicts of interest, just dedication to your mission,” the 18F website reads. “Together with our government agency partners, we deliver projects that stay within budget and improve their technology.”
Shedd told employees that the decision aligns both with executive orders from the White House, including one directing widespread layoffs across the government, and “the recent memo from GSA per the Trump administration requiring the cutting of ‘non-essential consulting’ functions.”
The head of GSA has been focused on utilizing AI to reduce headcount.
The shuttering of 18F comes amidst a larger Trump administration effort to cull the federal workforce by offering a delayed resignation option, dismissing newer employees — including tech-focused feds at GSA that’ve already been dismissed — and conducting layoffs. The day prior, 12 senior executives at the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA left their positions.
Frank Konkel contributed to this report.
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