DHS deputy CIO joins CACI subsidiary weeks after $983M award
CACI says it screened Granger and found no conflict, but the Procurement Integrity Act's one-year compensation bar turns on whether the departing official participated in the procurement.
TL;DR
Chris Granger, DHS's deputy CIO, left the department and joined a CACI subsidiary less than two months after the subsidiary won a five-year, $983 million contract to provide desktop support services for DHS's Office of the Chief Information Officer. The Procurement Integrity Act bars former officials from accepting compensation from a contractor for one year post-award when they participated in procurement decisions on contracts over $10 million. CACI told FedScoop it screened Granger for conflicts and that any connection between the award and his hiring "is non-existent." Ethics experts and attorneys consulted by FedScoop didn't say the move was illegal, but several told the outlet the timing raised eyebrows.
Chris Granger, DHS's deputy CIO, departed the department and joined a subsidiary of CACI International less than two months after that subsidiary won a five-year, $983 million contract to provide desktop support services for DHS's Office of the Chief Information Officer. The Procurement Integrity Act bars former government employees from accepting compensation from a contractor for one year after a contract award exceeding $10 million, when the employee was involved in the procurement decision.
CACI told FedScoop it screened Granger for conflicts before extending an offer and that any connection between the contract award and his employment "is non-existent." The company said his role "was, and remains, a function of where in this enterprise Mr. Granger can add maximum value consistent with his post-Government restrictions."
Jerry McGinn, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Center for the Industrial Base, told FedScoop that when a contract covers an entire CIO office, "it's likely that the CIO and deputy CIO would be part of the decision-making." The Federal Acquisition Regulation requires agencies to avoid not only conflicts of interest but "the appearance of a conflict of interest in government-contractor relationships."
FedScoop reports that Granger's move is one of a series of ethically questionable departures from DHS since 2025. Ethics experts and attorneys consulted for the story didn't say the moves were illegal, but several told the outlet they raised eyebrows.
Published ·Deep Fathom