Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has recused himself from any decisions regarding the JEDI (the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure) cloud-procurement program.
“Although not legally required to, [Esper] has removed himself from participating in any decision making … due to his adult son’s employment with one of the original contract applicants,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in an Oct. 22 statement.
Numerous news reports wrote stories outlining potential problems with the procurement process, largely centering upon a contention by some bidders that the contract ultimately should be shared among several companies rather than awarded to a single provider.
Hoffman did not identify which company for which Esper’s son works. Ultimately, the contract – which would provide cloud-based data access to all service members – could be worth as much as $10 billion.
Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Nordquist will assume the decision-making role for JEDI procurement, Hoffman stated.
