Exclusive: Lawmaker Investigates GSA Over Alleged Favoritism Towards Thiel-Backed Startup Ramp

The ranking member of the House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation into whether the General Services Administration (GSA) has given preferential treatment to a technology startup, Ramp, competing for a lucrative government contract. This startup is backed by some of President Donald Trump’s most influential Silicon Valley allies.

ProPublica's investigation revealed that the GSA was considering New York-based payments company Ramp to overhaul the massive, $700 billion federal credit card program known as SmartPay. Senior GSA officials met with Ramp executives at least four times before publicly opening up the SmartPay contract opportunity, raising ethical concerns.

Internally, Ramp was seen as the clear favorite for an initial $25 million pilot contract, which could lead to larger SmartPay work. The contract for the pilot program hasn’t been awarded yet.

Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., sent a letter to the GSA demanding documents about the agency’s dealings with Ramp, highlighting the company's lack of federal contracting experience and its connections to prominent Trump supporters.

SmartPay, which provides Visa and Mastercard charge cards to government employees, is a critical program for federal purchases. The GSA will decide by year’s end whether to extend SmartPay with the current contract or to remake the program more fundamentally.

Ramp’s investors include Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures, such as Peter Thiel and Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures, who sits on Ramp’s board. The involvement of these high-profile backers has added to the scrutiny of the GSA’s actions.

During a high-profile conference in Washington, Ramp’s CEO and Rabois touted the company as a transformational solution for government payments, despite experts calling their claims about SmartPay’s inefficiencies inaccurate.