President's Management Agenda Gets Right to the Point

The Office of the White House released the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) this week and if nothing else, it’s brief and to the point. A visit to the PMA home page at Performance.gov greets you with the strident directive — “Execute the Mandate”.

Gone are the days of a multi-page agenda with various details about ways to meet the president’s goals and objective to improve the federal government. This PMA provides a short list of 8 overall goals and 30 total objectives under the following three priorities: (1) shrink the government and eliminate waste; (2) ensure accountability for Americans; and (3) deliver results, buy American.

The site leads to Office of Management and Budget memorandum M-26-03 that addresses efforts the White House has taken over the course of the past year to “reshape the federal government” in its effort to “eliminate waste, ensure accountability, rebuild American industry and deliver results for the American people.”

The memo includes a one-page chart listing all of the priorities, goals and objectives within the PMA. Many of these aims have been expressed in the Trump administration’s executive orders that it has released over the course of the past year.

Some key goals and priorities that affect grant programs are the following:

• Eliminate woke, weaponization and waste: Cut ineffective and radical programs and funding, and prioritize work that puts American citizens first — (1) eradicate woke and weaponized programs across government; (2) end discrimination by government; (3) defund diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender ideology, K-12 indoctrination, child mutilation and open borders; and (4) cease payments to fraudsters and eliminate waste.
• Downsize the federal workforce: Reduce the federal workforce by eliminating unnecessary positions and removing poor performers — (1) eliminate jobs in non-essential, non-statutory functions; (2) remove poor performers; and (3) strategically hire only for essential jobs.
• Foster a merit-based federal workforce: Hire based on merit and skills, and hold employees accountable for results aligned with presidential policies — (1) hire the best based on skills and merit; (2) implement all employee performance and accountability presidential directives; (3) implement the president's executive orders to address labor-management relations; and (4) recruit exceptional talent to defend the border.
• Demand partners who deliver: Ensure contracts and grants go only to high-performing recipients to advance America First priorities — (1) contract with the best businesses; (2) put political appointees in control of grant processes to deliver results; and (3) hold contractors and grant recipients accountable.
• Efficiently deploy the buying power of the federal government and Buy American: Consolidate procurement and eliminate bureaucracy to maximize taxpayer value and enhance operational efficiency — (1) buy as one entity: smarter, faster, cheaper; (2) build the most agile, effective and efficient procurement system; and (3) rebuild American industry through prioritizing and enhancing Made in America execution.

These bullet-point objectives within the PMA are expected to lead to even bigger changes within federal government oversight as we head into 2026. Expect to see OMB propose new revisions to the uniform guidance in the coming months that incorporate these goals and objectives as the administration looks to “Execute the Mandate.”

Join us for our following Thompson Grants event:
Thompson Grants Workshop: Procurement | Jan. 28, 2026 | Virtual Event