Expense management startup Ramp is under investigation following concerns that it may be receiving preferential treatment in its bid for a $25 million federal contract. The probe, led by Rep. Gerald Connolly, ranking member of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, questions how the young fintech firm—with no prior federal contracting experience—has emerged as a front-runner for a major government pilot program.
In a formal letter to Acting GSA Administrator Stephen Ehikian, Connolly demanded documentation related to the General Services Administration’s (GSA) reported plans to award Ramp a contract for a pilot phase of the government’s SmartPay program. The inquiry includes a request for all records of meetings and communications between Ramp representatives and GSA officials, subcontractors, or contractors.
At the heart of the issue is not just Ramp’s lack of experience in handling federal contracts, but its investor ties to prominent Republican figures. Connolly noted that Ramp’s backers include Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital (founded by Jared Kushner’s brother), Joe Lonsdale of 8VC, and even former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Rabois, in particular, has reportedly raised over $1 million for Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign—a detail that has raised eyebrows about political influence.
Concerns Over Timing, Transparency, and Fair Competition
Ramp’s bid comes as part of the federal government’s broader SmartPay initiative, a massive $700 billion program managed by Citibank and US Bank. The pilot program in question would allow Ramp to test its corporate card and expense platform within government workflows. But the timeline of events is now under scrutiny.
Ramp says it entered the race through normal channels, responding to a public post from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on X in February. According to Ramp’s head of communications, the company was alerted by a former customer and entered the standard procurement process based on the “strength of our solution.”
However, Rep. Connolly alleges that Ramp was already reaching out to payments industry entities for the specialized identifiers required to process government transactions—before any public request for information (RFI) was released. He also cites reports that a GSA employee referred to Ramp as the “favorite” to win the pilot program, potentially undermining the fairness of the selection process.
Ramp, which recently hit a $13 billion valuation after a $150 million secondary share sale, has remained silent on the investigation. Since its 2019 launch, the startup has raised over $1 billion in equity and secured $700 million in debt financing. But as scrutiny intensifies over how startups intersect with public sector contracts, its bid for a slice of the federal procurement market could now face a much tougher review.
