Last month, The New York Times reported on a series of lucrative contracts that the Trump administration awarded to the company that helped organize President Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
The contracts were for event planning, a type of work done by hundreds of other federal contractors. But federal agencies did not ask any of those other companies for bids. Instead, they bypassed the normal competitive process and gave the contracts directly to the firm close to Mr. Trump.
Those are called “no-bid” or “sole-source” contracts. They are supposed to be used only rarely, but the system that polices them can be lax and vulnerable to abuse.
Earlier this year, similar contracts played a role in the political downfall of Kristi Noem, the former homeland security secretary, whose department paid $220 million in work to companies tied to Ms. Noem and her allies.
We are trying to understand how the Trump administration is using no-bid contracts, and to which firms it is giving these contracts. Not every no-bid contract is inherently a sweetheart deal — these arrangements are routine when there is truly only one supplier for a product or service. To sort out what might be newsworthy, we would like to ask your help. If you know of a no-bid contract that may have been awarded improperly, please use the form below to tell us more.
We will read every response to this questionnaire, and reach out to you if we have more questions. We will not publish your name or any other identifying information unless you want us to. In that case, we would reach out to you directly and ask for your permission. And we will not share your contact information outside the Times newsroom, or use it for any reason other than to get in touch with you.
David A. Fahrenthold is a Times investigative reporter writing about nonprofit organizations. He has been a reporter for two decades.
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