In 1947, President
Harry Truman asked former president
Herbert Hoover to lead what became known as the
Hoover Commission to make recommendations to reorganize the operations of the federal government. One of the commission's recommendations was the establishment of an "Office of the General Services", to combine the responsibilities of the following organizations: •
United States Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Federal Supply • U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Contract Settlement •
National Archives Establishment • All functions of the
Federal Works Agency, including the Public Buildings Administration and the Public Roads Administration •
War Assets Administration GSA became an independent agency on July 1, 1949, after the passage of the
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. General
Jess Larson, administrator of the
War Assets Administration, was named GSA's first administrator. The first job awaiting Administrator Larson and the newly formed GSA was a complete renovation of the
White House. The structure had fallen into such a state of disrepair by 1949 that one inspector said it was standing "purely from habit". Larson later explained the total renovation in depth by saying, "In order to make the White House structurally sound, it was necessary to completely dismantle, and I mean completely dismantle, everything from the White House except the four walls, which were constructed of stone. Everything, except the four walls without a roof, was finally stripped down, and that's where the work started." GSA worked closely with President Truman and First Lady
Bess Truman to ensure that the new agency's first major project would be a success. GSA completed the renovation in 1952. In 1960, GSA created the Federal Telecommunications System, a government-wide intercity telephone system. In 1962 the Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space created a new building program to address obsolete office buildings in Washington, D.C., resulting in the construction of many of the offices that now line
Independence Avenue. In 1970, the Nixon administration created the Consumer Product Information Coordinating Center, now part of
USAGov. In 1974 the Federal Buildings Fund was initiated, allowing GSA to issue rent bills to federal agencies. In 1972 GSA established the Automated Data and Telecommunications Service, which later became the Office of Information Resources Management. In 1973 GSA created the Office of Federal Management Policy. GSA's Office of Acquisition Policy centralized
procurement policy in 1978. GSA was initially responsible for
emergency preparedness and stockpiling strategic materials to be used in wartime until those functions were transferred to the newly created
Federal Emergency Management Agency in 1979. The National Archives and Records Administration was spun off into an independent agency in 1985. The same year, GSA began providing government-wide policy oversight and guidance for federal real property management as a result of an executive order signed by President
Ronald Reagan. In 2003, the
Federal Protective Service, which secures GSA-managed (and other) buildings, was moved to the
United States Department of Homeland Security. In 2005, GSA reorganized to merge the Federal Supply Service (FSS) and Federal Technology Service (FTS) business lines into the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). On April 3, 2009, President
Barack Obama nominated
Martha N. Johnson to serve as GSA Administrator. After a nine-month delay, the
United States Senate confirmed her nomination on February 4, 2010. On April 2, 2012, Johnson resigned in the wake of a management-deficiency report that detailed improper payments for a 2010 "Western Regions" training conference held by the Public Buildings Service in
Las Vegas. After the election of President
Donald Trump in January 2025, GSA became one of the
US federal entities targeted by Elon Musk. Members of the
Department of Government Efficiency accessed GSA laptops and internal GSA infrastructure. An employee of
Elon Musk's company
Tesla,
Thomas Shedd, was appointed to lead "Technology Transformation Services" within the GSA.
Controversies Ted Weiss Federal Building controversy In July 1991, GSA contractors began the excavation of what is now the
Ted Weiss Federal Building in
New York City. The planning for that building did not take into account the possibility of encountering the historic cemetery for colonial-era African New Yorkers located beneath the footprint of the $276 million office building. When initial excavation disturbed burials, destroying skeletons and artifacts, GSA sent
archaeologists to excavate—but hid their findings from the public. Revelation of the discoveries led to 18 months of activism by African-descendant community members, public officials, academics, and concerned citizens. Ultimately, GSA made public amends by funding extensive scientific research under the auspices of
Michael Blakey; creating a new subagency, the Office of Public Education and Interpretation; truncating the building plan; and funding public reports on the story of the African Burial Ground. The efforts led to the creation of a new unit of the
National Park Service, the
African Burial Ground National Monument, at the facility. GSA fully funded that portion of the National Park Service until 2010, when GSA's formal involvement with the African Burial Ground ceased.
Lurita Doan controversy During President George W. Bush's Administration GSA Administrator,
Lurita Doan, was forced to resign after GSA had awarded a sole source contract for $20,000 to her friend. Doan appeared to have violated the
Hatch Act and was criticized for political activity while on the job. The investigating team recommended she be punished to the fullest extent, and she resigned soon after.
Western Regions Training Conference controversy In 2012, U.S. representative
John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called for a congressional investigation into the misuse of federal money by GSA. Lawmakers accused GSA of "lavish spending" following the 2010 Western Regions Training Conference at the
M Resort in
Las Vegas. GSA spent $823,000 in taxpayer money toward the October 2010 convention, including $100,405.37 spent on employee travel costs for a total of eight pre-planning meetings, scouting trips, and a "dry run". The report also found excessive spending for event planners, gifts for participants, and lavish meals. The conference had been the most recent in a series of similar lavish conferences organized by regions of GSA's Public Buildings Service (PBS, not to be confused with the public broadcaster
of the same name). In May 2010 GSA treated 120 interns to a five-day conference at a
Palm Springs, California, resort. An additional investigation led by Inspector General Brian D. Miller found 115 missing
Apple iPods meant for an employee rewards program. GSA administrator
Martha N. Johnson resigned in the wake of the controversy, after firing Public Buildings Service head Robert Peck and senior advisor Stephen Leeds. Four regional commissioners of the Service, who had been responsible for planning the conference, were placed on administrative leave.
Trump–Biden presidential transition controversy After
Joe Biden was called by media outlets as the
president-elect of the United States – defeating
Donald Trump in the
November 2020 election –
Emily W. Murphy, the chief executive of the General Services Administration, initially refused to sign a letter authorizing
Biden's transition team to begin work and access federal agencies and
transition funds, according to
The Washington Post. This came as Trump refused to concede Biden's presumptive – but not yet certified – victory and follow the norm of facilitating a
peaceful transition of power to the presumptive winner. There are no firm rules on how the GSA determines the president-elect. Typically, the GSA chief might decide after reliable news organizations have declared the winner or following a
concession by the loser. On November 23, 2020, Murphy issued the letter of ascertainment that meant the Trump administration was ready to begin the formal transition.
Login.gov Digital Identity Standards controversy In April 2022, the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Inspections, initiated an evaluation of the GSA's
Login.gov services. OIG initiated this evaluation based on a notification received from GSA's Office of General Counsel identifying potential misconduct within Login.gov, a component of GSA's Technology Transformation Services (TTS) under the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). OIG's evaluation found that GSA misled their customer agencies when GSA failed to communicate Login.gov's known noncompliance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-63-3, Digital Identity Guidelines. Notwithstanding GSA officials' assertions that Login.gov met SP 800-63-3 Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) requirements, Login.gov has never included a physical or biometric comparison for its customer agencies. Further, GSA continued to mislead customer agencies even after GSA suspended efforts to meet SP 800-63-3. GSA knowingly billed IAL2 customer agencies over $10 million for services, including alleged IAL2 services that did not meet IAL2 standards. Furthermore, GSA used misleading language to secure additional funds for Login.gov. Finally, the GSA lacked adequate controls over the Login.gov program and allowed it to operate under a hands-off culture. OIG found that because of its failure to exercise management oversight and internal controls over Login.gov, FAS shares responsibility for the misrepresentations to GSA's customers. In response to OIG's report, GSA management agreed with the findings and recommendations.
Judiciary In February 2026, the
federal judiciary asked Congress to allow it to directly manage its facilities. The courts said: ==Organization==