On Tuesday of this week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Emily Webster Murphy to be the next administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).
Murphy’s nomination has received a strong showing of bipartisan support with leaders from both parties praising her experience, qualifications, and commitment to public service.
The Senate’s unanimous consent decision came after Murphy’s confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs where she discussed her key priorities and vision for advancing the agency. As the 41st administrator of GSA, Murphy will lead a workforce of 11,600 full-time employees and oversee more than 371 million rentable square feet of property and approximately $54 billion in annual contracts.
“It’s truly an honor and a privilege to receive the Senate’s support for my nomination to serve as administrator of GSA,” said Murphy. “I look forward to working with our partners in industry, customer agencies, and Congress so that GSA can continue to fulfill its mission of providing the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government and the American people.
“I’m excited to work with the talented and dedicated team at GSA as we focus on my priorities as administrator, which include emphasizing ethical leadership, reducing duplication within our internal processes and across government, generating more competition at the contract and task order level, and increasing agency transparency,” said Murphy.
Murphy previously served as senior advisor to GSA’s acting administrator and comes to the agency with decades of experience in government contracting and procurement, and with prior GSA leadership experience. As senior advisor, Murphy has helped guide the merger of the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) and the Technology Transformation Service (TTS) and advised on opportunities to improve how GSA facilitates technology purchases.
Murphy has served as counsel at the House Armed Services Committee, specializing in acquisition policy and reform. Murphy’s career includes appointments at the U.S. Small Business Administration and at GSA, where she served as GSA’s inaugural chief acquisition officer from 2005 to 2007. As chief acquisition officer, Murphy led the transformation of the agency’s assisted acquisition centers and the consolidation of the Federal Supply Service and the Federal Technology Service. Murphy also served as GSA’s representative to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council and the leader of the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council, which are responsible for procurement regulations. In this capacity, she helped modernize the FAR and GSA regulations to reflect the government’s increasing use of service contracts as opposed to commodity buys. Additionally, Murphy served under three chairmen of the House Small Business Committee, where she helped push aggressive, bipartisan contracting reform packages resulting in more than 100 contracting provisions that were signed into law.
Murphy’s private sector experience includes five years in executive positions at a technology startup company engaged in federal contracting and three years as a government contracts attorney with two top Washington, D.C. law firms. A Missouri native, Murphy is a 1995 graduate of Smith College and a 2001 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
