This story was originally published by ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

Just four days prior to Donald Trumps inauguration as President of the United States, Ramp, a financial technology startup, released a comprehensive 4,000-word blog post entitled The Efficiency Formula. In this document, Ramps CEO and one of its prominent investors laid out a pitch to tackle the issue of wasteful government spending. The ideas presented were strikingly similar to those championed by Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, suggesting that federal programs were plagued by fraud and advocating for the application of straightforward business techniques as an immediate remedy.

Ramp specializes in offering corporate credit cards and advanced artificial intelligence software designed to help businesses analyze their spending. Although the startup currently lacks any federal contracts, the blog post strongly suggested that the government should consider hiring them. The argument made was that just as Ramp assists businesses with managing their budgets, it could potentially apply the same expertise to various government agencies.

It didnt take long for Ramp to capture the attention of key policymakers. Within the first three months of Trumps presidency, the executives from Ramp managed to secure at least four private meetings with officials from the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency responsible for overseeing significant federal contracts. Among these meetings was a notable engagement orchestrated by Josh Gruenbaum, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, who is recognized as the nations top procurement officer.

The GSA appears to be considering Ramp for a piece of the governments extensive $700 billion internal expense card program, known as SmartPay. Recently, sources informed ProPublica that Trump appointees at GSA have been hastily moving to engage Ramp for a pilot program associated with charge cards valued at up to $25 million. This comes despite Musks ongoing Department of Government Efficiency, which has been actively highlighting the contracts it has canceled across various federal agencies.

Founded just six years ago, Ramp has attracted support from some of the most influential figures in Silicon Valley. Among these is Peter Thiel, a billionaire venture capitalist who was one of Trumps earliest supporters within the tech sector and has invested millions into Vice President JD Vances Senate campaign in Ohio. According to data from PitchBook, Thiels firm, Founders Fund, has participated in seven separate rounds of funding for Ramp. Thiel himself remarked last year that there was no one better positioned than Ramp to create products at the intersection of artificial intelligence and finance.

To date, Ramp has successfully raised approximately $2 billion in venture capital, as reported by startup tracking website Crunchbase. Much of this funding has come from firms with connections to Trump and Musk. Notable investors include Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capitalwhich was founded by Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushnerand 8VC, an investment firm managed by allies of Musk.

However, the high level of attention that Gruenbaum has devoted to Ramp has raised concerns among both agency insiders and external observers. Scott Amey, the general counsel with the bipartisan Project on Government Oversight, expressed that this scenario contradicts the standard safeguards that are designed to prevent contracts from being awarded based on personal connections. He emphasized that career civil servants ought to spearhead the selection process to ensure the best outcome for taxpayers.

Another senior GSA official, who requested anonymity due to fears of retribution, remarked that the unusual amount of attention Ramp received was particularly concerning, especially before any bid had been publicly announced. You dont want to give the impression that leadership has already decided a winner, the official stated.

In response to inquiries from ProPublica, the GSA firmly rejected any allegations of unfair or preferential contracting practices. A spokesperson asserted that the credit card reform initiative has been well known to the public in an effort to address waste, fraud, and abuse. Meanwhile, Ramp did not respond to requests for comment regarding their dealings with the GSA.

Rabois, one of the companys earliest investors, is part of a notable group of tech entrepreneurs known as the PayPal Mafia. Numerous leaders from the early payments company have emerged as influential figures in Trump's administration, including Musk and Thiel. Rabois and his husband, Jacob Helberg, hosted a fundraiser that raised over $1 million for Trumps 2024 campaign, as reported by various media outlets. Helberg has also been nominated by Trump for a senior position at the State Department.

Rabois, who serves on Ramps board of directors, has claimed he has no plans to join the Trump administration, instead stating to CNBC, I have ideas, I can spoon-feed them to the right people. In further comments, he told ProPublica that he was referring to broader policy concepts and emphasized that he had no involvement in any government-related initiatives for the company. He asserted that Ramp could be a great choice for any government that wants to improve its efficiencies. Helberg, for his part, stated that he has no involvement in anything related to Ramp.

Thrive Capital, Kushners firm, did not respond to requests for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Thiel. 8VC also chose not to comment, and neither the White House nor Musk provided responses; Musk has previously indicated that he would recuse himself if any conflict-of-interest issues arose.

The meetings between Ramp and Gruenbaumwho has a background from private equity firm KKR and lacks previous government experienceoccurred at a pivotal moment. The GSA is expected to decide by the end of the year whether to extend the SmartPay contract, and preparations for the programs next iteration are underway. SmartPay has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in fees for the financial institutions currently managing it, namely U.S. Bank and Citibank.

Gruenbaum and acting GSA administrator Stephen Ehikian both entered the agency with a strong belief that programs like SmartPay were rife with fraud and waste, leading to substantial financial losses, according to sources within the GSA. This narrative closely aligns with the assertions made in Ramps January memo. However, both Republican and Democratic budget experts, alongside former GSA officials, have criticized this perspective as misguided. SmartPay, which supplies Visa and Mastercard charge cards to government employees, allows the federal workforce to procure office supplies, book travel, and pay for fuel.

These cards are typically used for expenses up to $10,000, and according to former GSA commissioner Sonny Hashmi, SmartPay is the lifeblood of the government. Its a well-run program that addresses real-world challenges, equipped with exceptional levels of oversight and fraud prevention already in place.

Jessica Riedl, a Republican budget expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute, also expressed skepticism towards the notion of significant fraud in government charge card operations. She noted that while there were past concerns about waste in government credit card programs, particularly before the latest SmartPay system was implemented in 2018, controls have improved significantly in the last decade.

A 2017 audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office found scant evidence of potential fraud within SmartPays small purchases, although it did identify certain documentation errors. Subsequent audits have indicated that while some officials neglected to utilize anti-fraud tools, the overall integrity of the program remained robust.

Despite the lack of substantial evidence supporting their claims, GSA's new leaders seem convinced that SmartPay is fundamentally flawed. This sentiment has been shared during private discussions, as sources have indicated. In February, the agency briefly imposed a $1 limit on government cards and dramatically reduced the number of cardholders, resulting in a freeze on funds to field workers.

The consequences of these limitations were quickly felt across the government, with reports detailing chaos: staff at the National Institutes of Health faced difficulties obtaining materials necessary for experiments, Federal Aviation Administration personnel worried they would be unable to pay for travel to critical testing in the field, and employees at the National Park Service found themselves unable to travel to supervise essential maintenance projects.

In response to the turmoil, the GSA issued a statement claiming that these restrictions were risk mitigation best practices and initiated a move to revamp the SmartPay program.

Ramps potential first foray into the SmartPay business could materialize through a pilot program worth up to $25 millionan opportunity that the GSA announced shortly after leadership began meeting with the company. Toward the end of the Biden administration, the GSA had circulated a request for information (RFI) seeking insights from the industry on how to enhance the future iteration of SmartPay. However, some industry participants who submitted feedback reported receiving no response from the government. Instead, GSA intensified its engagement with Ramp.

The GSA subsequently issued a new RFI for the pilot program on March 20, 2025, leaving the application window open for less than seven business days. John Weiler, co-founder of the nonprofit IT Acquisition Advisory Council, remarked that such a brief period seemed irregular, stating, A week is nothing; it gives the impression they had already picked the winner. Weiler has previously collaborated with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley to investigate issues related to IT contracting.

According to sources inside the GSA and former officials, Ramp is being viewed as the clear frontrunner for this contract, although an official announcement has yet to be made.

Procurement experts consulted by ProPublica noted that while consulting industry leaders prior to a significant overhaul is a commendable practice, the fact-finding process needs to be equitable and guided by professional contracting officers. The GSA spokesperson emphasized that all communications with potential vendors, including multiple participants, have been integral to market research aimed at identifying optimal solutions for American taxpayers. The agency declined to comment on whether Ramp had already been internally selected for SmartPay work.

This pilot program is unique as it employs a specialized GSA purchasing authority known as commercial solutions opening. This approach has been utilized by the Pentagon to accelerate the acquisition of products needed in armed conflict zones. The categorization allows the chosen contractor to be selected more swiftly and without the same level of regulatory oversight.

It remains unclear how Ramp initially secured private meetings with GSA leadership or whether the company will ultimately take control of the entire SmartPay contract from U.S. Bank and Citibank. Representatives from both banks declined to comment on the situation.

What is evident, however, is that Ramp has yet to work with a client of the scale of the federal government, with its only publicly listed public-sector partner being a charter school network located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Even before the RFI was publicly announced, Ramp had begun reaching out to contacts within the payment industry to inquire about the special bank identification numbers required to facilitate government payments, according to an industry source. This proactive approach, as noted by two former GSA officials, further indicated that Ramp was preparing to engage with the program.

Ramps interactions with the GSA occur at a time when the agency is poised to take on a more substantial role in governmental spending decisions. Coincidentally, on the same day the SmartPay pilot was unveiled, Trump signed an executive order aimed at centralizing a significant portion of government procurement processes within the GSA. The DOGE initiative, associated with Musk, has essentially set up operations within the agency, with staff members reportedly installing beds and dressers for overnight stays, further highlighting the agency's shifting dynamics.

While the negotiations surrounding the SmartPay contract have largely gone unnoticed, the potential alterations to this credit card program could dramatically influence the daily operations of federal employees and fundamentally reshape how various agencies function. Additionally, it represents a substantial business opportunity for those involved.

Theres a lot of money to be made by a new company stepping into this space, remarked Hashmi, the former GSA commissioner. But one must question: What specific problem is being solved?