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‘Absolutely nuts’: DHS secretary to review all contract, grant awards over $100k

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2 months ago

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Just ahead of the busiest time of the year for most agency acquisition shops, the Homeland Security Department is throwing in an extra layer of review for its procurement efforts.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is requiring her office to review and sign off on all contracts and awards over $100,000.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a new contract award review policy.
(AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

“All proposals for my consideration must include all relevant details, including any mission impact, dollar values, description of the supplies or services, any timeliness issues and a description of the proposed action,” Noem wrote in the memo obtained by Federal News Network. “Requests for approval of obligations above the $100,000 threshold must be submitted via memo through the Executive Secretary process. As with any request for secretarial approval, please allow a minimum of five days for front office review.”

Based on the last three fiscal years’ data, Noem’s office will have to approve more than 5,100 contract actions worth over 100,000.

“I think most, if not all sane and knowledgeable people would consider this policy absolutely nuts,” said Mark Borkowski, who served for 13 years as the assistant commissioner and chief acquisition officer at the Customs and Border Protection directorate before retiring in 2023. “I understand why someone would want to do this. I completely understand the rationale as we did something similar at CBP when I was there. This is as much an opportunity to audit contracts and figure out what is there and look for waste and redundancy. So I understand their motivation, but this will be  tremendous workload.”

Data from Deltek, a market research firm, found DHS spends between 45% and 47% of its procurement budget in the fourth quarter, which starts July 1.

Federal News Network asked DHS for more details about the decision, including how the Noem plans to ensure the approval process for contract and grant awards doesn’t create a backlog at a critical time of the year.

A DHS spokesperson said: “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is rooting out waste, fraud [and] abuse, and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars. Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens.”

Noem said in her memo that this new guidance supersedes a previous directive calling for her approval for all spending over $25 million.

DHS policy is “bush league”

Borkowski said the memo opens the door to a lot of questions about the reviews needed when an office picks up an option under an existing contract or for task orders under indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) type contracts. He said CBP used a time-and-materials contracts to address contingency or emergency needs and questioned whether those, too, would need Secretary approval.

“There has to be some other agenda here. Is the intent to slow down and gum up the works or to stop things? There is no way the secretary will be able to review these contracts,” Borkowski said. “Who will be doing these reviews? The politicals? But they will also need experts in procurement and acquisition from across the agency so that means folks will be pulled away from supporting the mission at one of the busiest times of the year. I know procurement people are often stressed at end of fiscal year so I’d also be concerned what this will do to workload on folks who now have to be diverted to support this process.”

Another former DHS acquisition executive, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, called this memo “ridiculous” and “bush league.”

“The procurement system is purposely separated from political influence. By doing this she’s violating that principle,” the former executive said. “Is the secretary in the position to make technical and cost trade-off analysis? Does her staff have cost analysts to determine if the price is ‘right’ based on the requirement? Is she merely looking to see if the award is going to a company favorable to the administration? The mission need and estimated costs are always decided BEFORE the procurement.”

Both Borkowski and the other former executive said the five-day review period and the $100,000 floor threshold also are concerning.

Not only is $100,000 well below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold of $350,000, but many times these small buys are done using purchase cards, which means there is an immediate need for the product or service.

“Smart buying would suggest that low-dollar value items are purchased at economical quantities for the sake of efficiency and to save money. The fact that secretary would want to consider little thing like bulk printer paper buys, restocking rubber gloves at TSA check points or anything of this nature sounds like waste, fraud and abuse to me,” said the former executive. “The secretary and her staff should have far more important things to do with her time.”

5-day reviews critical

Borkowski said contracting officers can easily build in the five-day review requirement into their timeline so as not to impact the acquisition. But he’s skeptical that the secretary’s office can be relied upon to meet their own deadlines.

“If you can’t rely on the five day review, and I don’t believe you can, then I think you will have some serious issues getting contract actions through. Hopefully they find some way to come up with a waiver for contingencies and other urgent needs,” he said.

During his last few years at CBP, Borkowski said he initiated a similar review of service contracts after receiving criticism from oversight bodies like the Government Accountability Office.

“I was tasked to create a review process for service contracts and we met monthly. The first thing we did was collect list of contracts and there were thousands of them. We had to set threshold for what to review and we also looked those deemed high interest. We set a threshold of $2 million. If we went below that, there wasn’t enough hours in the day and would’ve shut the organization down waiting to review them. That was just CBP and just a subset of contracts,” he said. “I ran that and had others to help, and it was a lot of work. And I was just a component acquisition executive. This new effort is going to be an incredible amount of work, particularly if you go down to sec level.”

The post ‘Absolutely nuts’: DHS secretary to review all contract, grant awards over $100k first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO)

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8 hours ago

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August 9, 2025

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Democrats continue to somehow subvert the lowest of expectations as they fight their woke crusades.

In a first ever virtue signal, New York City is set to open a transgender only homeless shelter.

The Gateway Pundit reported,

The city of New York is opening the nation’s first transgender-only homeless shelter.

The shelter, a partnership between a local LGBTQ nonprofit and the city government, will cost the city an extraordinary $65 million and will be the first transgender homeless shelter in the nation.

“ We’ve watched so many other corporations and foundations and businesses just like completely turn their back on the community and the city didn’t do it,” said Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, the nonprofit that will manage the shelter for the city.

“The city is keeping in line with what New York City has always been, a sanctuary city, a safe haven, but more importantly, a trendsetter when it comes to LGBTQ rights.”

The opening comes amid a broader homelessness crisis in New York City, where more than 100,000 people are estimated to be without stable housing on any given night.

The city’s shelter system is already stretched thin, with demand rising due to a combination of economic hardship, an influx of illegal aliens ,and a severe shortage of affordable housing.

Who cares about all the other homeless people in New York City each night, the transgender homeless come first.

Truth has become stranger than parody. With any luck, Democrats will continue down this path of self destruction that has been so thoroughly rejected by the American people.

The post Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt

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8 hours ago

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August 9, 2025

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A weeklong manhunt has come to a close with the apprehension of Michael Paul Brown, a 45-year-old Army veteran, following a fatal mass shooting at The Owl Bar in Anaconda.

On August 1, 2025, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Brown entered The Owl Bar, where he lived next door, and opened fire with a rifle, killing four local residents: bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley (64) and patrons Daniel Edwin Baillie (59), David Allen Leach (70), and Tony Wayne Palm (74).

A multi-agency effort, including state law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, and federal resources, scoured the mountainous terrain surrounding Anaconda. Helicopters, K9 units, and tactical teams were deployed across the region.

A reward of $7,500 to $10,000 was offered for information leading to Brown’s capture.

On Friday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte confirmed Brown’s arrest via social media, acknowledging the rapid and resolute law enforcement response.

“The Anaconda shooter Michael Brown has been apprehended. Incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana. Thank you to all partners for your commitment to the search. May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss,” Gianforte.

CNN reported:

Brown had been on the run since the “biggest” shooting in the state of Montana in a decade. He was arrested around 2 p.m. local time Friday near the search area in Anaconda and is now in the custody of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County authorities, according to the Montana Department of Justice.

Brown, an Army veteran, was seen on security footage fleeing The Owl Bar, where the fatal shooting occurred, investigators said. Since then, he had been sought by authorities representing at least 38 local, state and federal agencies traversing challenging terrain in the western Montana wilderness.

“I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown. The support we’ve seen for the community of Anaconda from across the state and the nation has also been remarkable,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement following the arrest. “The families and friends of the victims remain in my prayers.”

[…]

Brown served as an armor crewman in the US Army from January 2001 to May 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, a spokesperson with the US Army, previously told CNN.

Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, previously told CNN he struggled with his mental health during his time in the Army and was never the same after his service. Brown’s mental health got progressively worse with the passing of both of his parents, Boyle said.

The post Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain

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8 hours ago

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August 9, 2025

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Fire breaks out in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Cordoba.

More than a tourist attraction, more than an architectural treasure, the Mosque-Cathedral in the Andalusian city of Cordoba, Spain is a historical monument and a spiritual center – so, all around the world, both the faithful and the history lovers are mourning as a massive fire consumes the building complex.

Newsweek reported:

“Firefighters are responding to the blaze at the major tourist attraction and UNESCO-listed heritage site in Andalusia. Footage shows thick smoke billowing out from the millennia-old building as flames lapped at its roof.

Firefighters from the city of Córdoba are still battling to extinguish the fire at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba but local reports say the blaze is mostly contained as of 10 p.m. local time. The extent of damage is not yet clear.”

Being simultaneously one of the most significant buildings both in Islamic and in Christian architectural history, it began as a grand mosque in the 8th century and was transformed into a cathedral in 1236.

“The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, officially called the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, was built as a mosque over 200 years starting 785 CE. The mosque opened in 988 CE, and remained a Muslim site for nearly 300 years before the Christian conquest of Cordoba in 1236 CE.

The structure converted to a cathedral, undergoing additional modifications and building until one final, major addition in 1607 CE.”

Read more, from November 2024:

‘The Virgin of Paris’: Medieval Statue of the Virgin Mary With Baby Jesus, That Survived the 2019 Fire, Is Returned to the Notre Dame Cathedral Ahead of December Grand Reopening

The post WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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