A new edict orders the Defense Department to reduce the number of IT consulting and management services contracts, part of a push to take on more of that work in-house.

In a memo sent Tuesday , Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed DOD leaders and components to produce a written justification before issuing new contracts or task orders for IT consulting or management services. That justification must lay out why the work cannot be performed by DOD personnel or be “acquired from the direct service provider, whereby the prime contractor is not an integrator or consultant.” The justification must also include a cost-benefit analysis, evidence that alternatives were evaluated, and the justification for going outside both DOD and direct service providers. Finally, no such work can proceed

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