How Presidential Power Over Procurement Can Be A Vehicle For Social Change

U.S. presidents have long used their power over federal procurement to enact a wide range of social policy. Executive orders issued under the Biden Administration have pushed the boundaries of the president’s power over Government contracting to enact social change from establishing mandatory minimum wages for contract workers to requiring each contract worker to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Recent challenges to these orders shine some light on the line between acceptable executive action relating to procurement and implementation of social policies that go well beyond what will improve the “economy and efficiency” of the procurement system.