Rep. Gerald Connolly, a ranking member of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, has launched an investigation into whether the cost management startup lamp is receiving priority treatment for the $25 million government contract.
Connolly has sent a letter to the General Services Agency (GSA), the administrator requesting information and documents related to the GSA’s reported information and documents. Probe news was first reported by Propublica.
Among Connolly’s biggest concerns is that Lamp has been said to have “no experience with federal contracts,” and its investors include many Trump allies and supporters. These investors include Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Keith Labois of Hothra Ventures, Joe Lonsdale of Trump Supporter 8VC, Jeb Bush, a brother of former Florida governor and former Republic brother George W. Bush, Trave Capital (founded by founder Josh Kushner), vocal Trump supporter Joe Lonsdale. According to Connolly’s letter, Labouis raised over $1 million in Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Connolly requests several things from the GSA, including a detailed list of all meetings between GSA officials and lamp representatives, as well as all communications between GSA officials, contractors or subcontractors, and lamp representatives.
The government’s internal fee card program, known as SmartPay, is a $700 billion program. Currently, two of the country’s largest credit card suppliers, Citibank and the US Bank are the official banks of the current SmartPay agreement.
In April, RAMP’s communications director Lindsay McKinley confirmed with TechCrunch that the startups are “competing in the standard procurement process for SmartPay pilot programs based on the strength of the solution.”
She claimed that the Startup Lamp saw a public post on February 18 about X, which shares government efficiency, known as Doge.
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A former customer claims they introduced lamps to the GSA a few days later.
However, Connolly claims that RAMP has reportedly begun contacting payment industry entities about the special bank identification numbers needed to process government payments prior to requesting contract-related information (RFI).
He also claimed that GSA employees recently stated that Lamp is a “favorite” to win the business.
Lamp did not comment on Connolly’s investigation.
In March, RAMP doubled its valuation to $13 billion after a $150 million subsidy sale. Since its founding in 2019, the startup has raised over $1 billion in equity funding and $700 million in committed debt funding.
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