Most years of a presidential transition result in some adjustments by the government contracting community as a new administration settles in, but 2025 presented more variables to GovCon than ever before.

Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, fields many questions from PSC’s member companies about what is happening across the ecosystem. Kostro joins Nick and Ross for this episode to unpack some that were answered in 2025 and others that remain unanswered for 2026, including the prospects of a second shutdown following the last one.

How the Department of Government Efficiency’s influence remains over GovCon is one of those that has some answers. As Kostro explains, DOGE’s presence at the agency level is something GovCon will have to account for in 2026.

The government’s acquisition overhaul to emphasize speed and commercial buying also has open questions from industry that Kostro walks Nick and Ross through. Small business contracting in today’s climate, bid protests and the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act also feature in the discussion.

WT 360: Known risks and potential rewards in the post-shutdown catchup

WT 360: Action items for contractors in the shutdown’s second week

Shutdown’s end just the beginning as contractors face months-long recovery

Contractors quantify shutdown damage as stoppages spread across missions

DOGE is no longer a 'centralized entity,' personnel chief says

DOGE caucus co-chair says the cost-cutting unit’s work will continue

DOGE guts HHS small business office in reorg effort

GSA adds third set of companies to consulting contract review

DOGE now has approval authority for defense IT, consulting contracts

Small businesses face upheaval under the acquisition overhaul and agency cuts

SBA orders 8(a) companies to turn over financial records

Unveiling acquisition overhaul, Hegseth tells industry to get with the program

GSA set to begin its rulemaking push for the FAR overhaul

New OMB memo lays out GSA's plan to consolidate contracts

Technology Modernization Fund reauthorization not included in NDAA

Defense authorization bill includes billions for cyber, intelligence matters

American Systems opened for business in 1975 and transitioned to an employee stock ownership plan 15 years later, a model that makes it one of the market’s largest 100% ESOP companies.

CEO John Steckel joins for this episode to help mark American Systems’ 50th anniversary and explains some moves it has made this year to set the company up for the next 50, including its largest-ever acquisition.

In talking with our Ross Wilkers, Steckel lays out what the purchase of Epsilon brings to American Systems and larger trends in managed services that led to the transaction. Secured data centers are part of that equation too and increasingly reflect larger conversations in society, as Steckel explains.

Of course, American Systems’ status as an ESOP features in the conversation too. American Systems (No. 87) is one of three ESOP companies on the 2025 WT Top 100 ranking alongside Torch Technologies (No. 66) and DCS Corp. (No. 77).

In his Nov. 7 address to industry, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out what the U.S. military wants from its contractors and wholesale changes the Pentagon is carrying out to make agile acquisitions a reality.

Lauren Williams, senior editor at Defense One who covers the industrial base, was there in-person and joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to walk through those structural changes that prior Defense Department leaders have spoken about for years.

One major theme of that dialogue has been DOD’s desire to have more commercial technologies, which has been easier said than done. But as Lauren explains, the push to “go commercial” is more than just about the product being bought.

Also on this episode’s discussion agenda: what the defense industrial base has been up to during the shutdown and why prototyping is becoming more popular across the ecosystem.

Unveiling acquisition overhaul, Hegseth tells industry to get with the program

Defense tech companies will weather the shutdown. But what happens next?

Experts see promise, risk in Pentagon’s draft acquisition reforms

Meet the White House pick to conquer the ‘Valley of Death’

With cautious optimism, some defense firms lock in on prototypes to drive demand

The 2025 government shutdown is on-record as the largest ever at 43 days, which means the recovery period will last well into the spring and presents a risky environment for contractors to operate in.

Christine Williamson, a partner in the GovCon industry advisory practice at CohnReznick, joins for this episode to walk through five risks she and her colleague Kristen Soles identified as ones companies must watch out for and ways for responding to them.

As Williamson tells our Ross Wilkers, there is much excitement across the entire ecosystem to get back to work and understanding there is a long road ahead to get government’s engine back to where it was pre-shutdown.

The article Williamson and Soles co-authored is below to read along during the conversation.

Government shutdown FAQ for contractors: Today’s risks and what’s next

Commence is a newish company looking to help federal agencies, state and local governments, and private sector entities harness technology with the goal of helping care providers make better decisions.

Ian Checcio, chief growth officer at Commence, joins for this episode to go over how the company has come together over 12 months with Pleasant Land’s backing and that vision of further enabling doctors and nurses.

No image describes the current difficulties health care providers face in their data collection and management practices than the fax machine and clipboard, on which every new patient fills out everything about themselves.

As Checcio explains to our Ross Wilkers, Commence’s federal and other customers are up against inertia that has built up over several years. But there have also never been more tech tools available to help in that effort and desire by customers to reverse the inertia.

Amentum is marking one year since its merger with Jacobs' government businesses to create a $14 billion-annual revenue company whose strategy centers around engineering and technology.

CEO John Heller joins our Nick Wakeman for this episode to discuss how Amentum has positioned for opportunities in high-growth markets including space systems, nuclear energy and multi-domain defense.

As Heller explains, nuclear engineering expertise is becoming more sought-after as artificial intelligence drives demand for power generation at scale.

The company is also focused on space-based infrastructure for working and living beyond Earth, along with potential opportunities in the Golden Dome missile defense program.

WT 360: Where Amentum wants to go next following its big merger

Amentum shows part of its hand for Golden Dome and nuclear power

A reader's guide to 'New Amentum' on its launch day

Amentum's blueprint as a public company

New Jacobs, Amentum creation puts focus on large enterprise contracts

Jacobs, Amentum unveil transaction to form a new public company

The government shutdown is now in week number four, which gives us a checkpoint to gauge the impacts so far and those to come for federal agency operations.

Part one of this two-part episode sees Carten Cordell and Edward Graham, respectively managing editors at WT’s partner publications Government Executive and NextgovFCW, join Nick and Ross to go over the shutdown from every angle.

Carten and Ed detail what operations are still ongoing inside government, who is still working, the impacts of the shutdown and key checkpoints to watch out for ahead of the eventual reopening.

Then in part two, Nick and Ross unpack the CEO transition at Science Applications International Corp. and put it into context against a market landscape that looks very different here in October versus what it was in January.

Shutdown furloughs will permanently cost the economy at least $7 billion, CBO says

Federal employee groups want to reopen government. They disagree on how

Shutdown layoffs indefinitely blocked following new court injunction

Republicans float paying some feds as Dems maintain shutdown approach

House Dems demand furloughs end for nuclear security agency

Top cyber lawmaker wants answers on CISA workforce reductions

Multiple CISA divisions targeted in shutdown layoffs, people familiar say

Inside Mission Daybreak: VA’s effort to support innovative suicide prevention

CyberCorps talent pipeline buckles under Trump hiring freezes

SAIC parts ways with CEO Toni Townes-Whitley

Leonardo DRS CEO William Lynn to retire after 14-year run at the company

Booz Allen cuts more jobs, lowers outlook amid funding slowdowns

Federal agencies may benefit from slower cloud adoption, Cloudera CEO says

Defense services companies face ‘structural issues’ as tech disruptors surge

GSA lines up 118 more OASIS+ awards

Trump’s ‘pincer maneuver’ reshapes federal contracting landscape

The business of federal contracting does not entirely come to a halt during government shutdowns, and arguably picks up in other ways, but financial concerns certainly remain paramount for all companies.

Phil Poliquin is a market executive for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking’s aerospace, defense and government services team. He is our guest for this week’s episode to go over some general guidelines for contractors on how to navigate the shutdown and stay ready for the reopening of government, plus thrive afterward.

The GovCon ecosystem has gone through about 10 months of stress testing before the shutdown, as Poliquin often reminds clients of. What teams like Poliquin’s want and need to hear from contractors also features in the conversation with our Ross Wilkers.

Tria Federal’s acquisition of Softrams back in the spring transformed the acquirer almost overnight into a 1,500-person team that looks to blend technical offerings and knowledge-centric work.

Tim Borchert and Atchut Kanthamani, respectively chief executive and president of Tria, join for this episode to overview the strategy for being a more formidable midsized competitor in its core markets of health and public safety.

During the conversation with our Ross Wilkers, Kanthamani also explained why he felt both the timing and buyer was right for the company he started in 2007.

Also on their agenda: where Tria sees itself in the broad arena of digital transformation, the market’s adjustment to a new pace and cadence in 2025, and the company’s Labs arm focused on innovation.

Stop-work orders from government agencies to their partners in industry do not, in fact, entirely pause the business of federal contracting as companies have plenty to do as they prepare for the eventual reopening.

This episode featuring Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, begins with a guide of what typically happens next after contractors receive those orders to stop work and wait for the directive to resume.

From there, Kostro takes our Ross Wilkers through some of the basic action items that the trade association is recommending for its member companies and more with all eyes toward the shutdown’s inevitable end.

Ongoing conversations with lenders and financial institutions are must-dos for companies well before, and while, the invoice payments freeze. Finding people inside government to speak with on deliverables is becoming more difficult, as Kostro explains.

WT 360: Our first look at the shutdown and fiscal 2026's landscape

Tracking shutdown costs now will determine what you can recover later

Shutdown’s ripple effect: Contractors, small businesses face devastating economic hit

The government shutdown playbook: cash flow, communication and recovery

Don’t wait: GovCon must prepare now for a potential shutdown

Reductions in force could make bad situation worse for federal contractors during government shutdown

OMB deletes reference to law guaranteeing backpay to furloughed feds from shutdown guidance

More employees set to receive furlough notices as shutdown drags on

Shutdown poised to drag into next week as layoff threat looms

RIF threat sparks union lawsuit as shutdown continues

White House: Shutdown layoffs are just days away

Government spirals into shutdown with Trump promising mass layoffs