Ed Forst sworn in as GSA administrator
On Christmas Eve Wednesday, Edward Forst was sworn into office not in Washington, D.C. as is typical for such appointments, but rather in Indian River Shores, Florida, by Mayor Brian T. Foley while Forst was on jury duty.
“I’m honored that President [Donald] Trump put his trust in me and I thank Mayor Foley for taking the time to swear me in as GSA Administrator on such short notice,” said Forst. “Over the past four months I’ve met with GSA employees, listened to what’s working well and what we can be doing better. I’m fired up to get to work and proud to start serving in President Trump’s Administration for the American people.”
Forst has more than four decades of experience as an executive in financial services and real estate, and he most recently served as the chairman of Lion Capital. The Senate confirmed his nomination on Dec. 18 following an October hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
He’s since been on a listening tour across GSA, which has taken on an expansive role in the Trump administration, consolidating the nation’s real estate footprint, reforming and centralizing acquisition practices, inking new deals to save taxpayer dollars and driving technology adoption across government.
Prior to Forst’s confirmation, Michael Rigas, a deputy secretary at the State Department, had served as the acting head of GSA since replacing Stephen Ehikian in July. Over the past year, GSA has — like many agencies in the first year of the Trump administration — reduced the size of its workforce, though last week it backed off plans to lay off additional tech employees.
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